After Increasing Passport Fee To N100,000, Immigration Blames ‘Technical Hitches’ As Online Payment Platform Shuts Down

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) on Friday said Nigerians will not be able to access its online payment platform for the time being blaming “technical hitches” days after increasing passport fee to N100,000.

NIS spokesperson Kenneth Udo said earlier in the week that the federal government had approved upward review of passport fees with a 32-page passport booklet with five-year validity rising from N35,000 to N50,000.

Udo also announced that the 64-page passport booklet with 10-year validity will increase from N70,000 to N100,000.

The new fees would take effect on September 1, 2024 amid hardship that sparked nationwide protests a few weeks ago.

Amid accusations of deliberately shutting down the online platform to deny Nigerians access to beat the date for the commencement of the new rates, NIS quickly took to its official X account to express regret for the inconvenience caused.

It assured citizens that efforts are underway to resolve the issue swiftly.

The notice which was tilted ‘Technical Hitches with Online Payment Platform’ emphasised the agency’s commitment to restoring seamless service as soon as possible.

The NIS urged the public to remain patient as the technical team works on the problem.

The notice reads, “We apologise for the downtime being experienced with online applications on our Passport Service windows.

“The Service is assuring the public that within the shortest possible time, seamless service will be restored.

“All inconveniences this may have caused is highly regretted. Please bear with us.”

After Increasing Passport Fee To N100,000, Immigration Blames ‘Technical Hitches’ As Online Payment Platform Shuts Down is first published on The Whistler Newspaper