In just three years of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration, Nigerians have witnessed an aggressive upward revision of government service fees, leading to a spike in the cost of international passports, driver’s licenses, vehicle number plates, cargo tariffs, and even inbound shipments. Attempts to justify the service fee increase as being necessitated by the need to sanitise processes, buffer rising production costs, and eliminate touts sharply contrast with the reality, suggesting that many Nigerians are being priced out of basic civic entitlements. ENO-ABASI SUNDAY reports that the widening gap between government rhetoric and the pains of the masses represents a systematic abandonment of the vulnerable. Given the stark asymmetry between cost and service quality, a major concern, experts insist that user-fee dependency does not qualify as a sustainable model for sound governance.

EK’Owoicho Adakole, a Nigerian immigrant in the United Kingdom, was exhilarated when the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) rolled out its Contactless Passport Application System mid-last year. Pronto, he began renewing his international passport as the validity date drew nearer. But hard as he tried, he was assailed by an avalanche of technical glitches, which left him flustered and despondent.

For him, nothing had changed in the passport processing process; it was just intense government propaganda.

As 2025 drew to a close, and with widespread criticism of the “innovation”, the NIS acknowledged the technical challenges faced by some Nigerians in the Diaspora while they attempted to renew their passports using the contactless application system, and assured the public that its technical team was doing all it could to “resolve the issues and restore optimal functionality.”

It also added that to “enhance user experience and ensure seamless transactions, “it has “upgraded and scaled up the system’s payment gateway. But despite all the assurances, many Nigerians in the Diaspora found themselves in the same boat as Adakole.

In-country, the story is not different, as attested to by the bumpy ride on a tiger’s tail that Ifeanyi James went through trying to renew his passport.

James’ journey to renew his international passport commenced at the NIS office in Ikeja, “where a swarm of other Nigerians milled around daily attempting to either renew their passports or to get new ones. From the look of things, and at the pace that things were moving, I felt it would take forever before it got to my turn.

“However, there were touts and NIS officials, who ‘volunteered’ to help those in a hurry to hasten the process for a fee. Since I didn’t want to entrust my money to these people operating on the illegal route, I contacted one of my colleagues at work, who introduced me to an immigration official at the Ikoyi Passport Office.

“When I contacted the senior NIS official, he demanded N150,000 as against N100,000 for a passport with five-year validity. Because my time was running out, and I needed the passport urgently, I agreed and sent the money to him.

“When he started the process, he discovered that my NIN had been suspended and told me to go to the NIMC office in Alausa, Ikeja, to rectify it. I did that and sent the rectified number to him. After two days, he informed me that I had to pay another N20,000 on the day I would go there for capture. I cannot remember what he said the new money was for, but I paid since it was a few days before I was expected to use the passport. It took me four days from the day I resubmitted the NIN to get the new passport.

“However, during the renewal exercise, I discovered that some immigration officials have private offices within the premises, where they meet their clients. These offices are manned by employees who work for them.”

These two scenarios, as well as thousands of others, effectively negate the Federal Government’s much-talked-about “commitment to innovation and efficiency in passport administration.”

In addition, they are at variance with one of the Federal Government’s reasons for hiking the cost of acquiring new international passports for Nigerians.

Between September 2024 and September 2025, the Federal Government slammed a 185 per cent cumulative increase in passport fees on Nigerians. This development means that the Federal Government hiked the passport fee from N19,000 to N100,000 in just six years.

It is not only in passport issuance and renewal that the government appears to have “sold the people a dummy” while foisting on them higher fees, which have failed to deter racketeering, touting and systemic corruption.

In January this year, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) slammed a whopping 257 per cent increase in the tariff on cargo from N7 to N25 per kilogramme. This was later reviewed to N15 (186 per cent) increment effective February 2, 2026, after stakeholders threatened to pull the plug, especially with its wide-ranging implications for Ease of Doing Business, and economic stability, among others.

In the wake of the hike, the Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFLON), led by President Frank Ogunnojemite, lamented that the new development would further negatively impact cargo and other businesses nationwide.

The Federal Government’s strong penchant for revenue harvesting also saw it bulldoze its way into the postal sub-sector where the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) announced that effective August 29, 2025, all parcels and items sent to the United States, except for letters and documents, will now attract a prepaid customs duty of $80 (or its naira equivalent) at the point of acceptance in Nigeria.

A statement signed by NIPOST’s management, however, claimed that the new charges stem from a recent policy change by the U.S. Government under the Executive Order on “Suspending Duty-Free De Minimis Treatment for All Countries” pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

The rent-seeking disposition of the Federal Government also saw the Joint Tax Board (JTB), the apex body for revenue authorities in the country, approve an increase in charges for vehicle number plates, driver’s license renewals, and new licenses.

The increment, which was effective Sunday, June 8, 2025, saw motor vehicle driver’s license for three years jerked to N15,000, while the one for five years is now N21,000. For a tricycle/motorcycle driver’s license, three years is N7,000 while five years is N11,000.

Standard private vehicle number plate now goes for N30,000; standard commercial number plate, N30,000; articulated vehicle number plate is N90,000; dealer vehicle number plate is N100,000; out of series number plate is N150, 000; fancy vehicle number plate is N400,000; government standard vehicle number plate is N80,000, while government fancy vehicle number plate stands at N120,000.

On May 1, 2025, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) also announced a review of the pricing structure for all its services related to the National Identification Number (NIN) issuance and other services.

In the review, the cost of correcting the date of birth on a NIMC slip increased to N28,574 from N16,340. This reflected a 74.87 per cent rise from the previous fee. The new price list also indicated that modifications to other details, such as name or address, now cost N2,000 per transaction, up by 31.41 per cent from the earlier fee of N1,522.

While initial NIN enrolment and issuance of slips remain free, NIMC said the reissuance of lost or damaged NIN slips now costs N600, an increase from N500.

As the mercantile government appears bent on squeezing every dime out of the citizenry in the name of strategic reforms or sanitising government processes, governance has become a luxury good, and the cost of proving one’s citizenship through licences, passports, receiving packages, and even freight forwarding goods is clearly out of the reach of the average Nigerian.

While the government continues to justify these neck-breaking hikes as necessary to sanitise processes and eliminate touts, the reality on the ground is that the poorest Nigerians are being priced out of basic civic entitlements, further raising the germane question of whether the Tinubu-led administration sees itself as a public revenue manager or a steward of the public good.

Since coming on board, tuition fees in several federal universities have also been hiked alarmingly. For instance, some legacy institutions in the country, including the University of Lagos, raised tuition fees from barely N20,000 to N190,250 for medical students and N140,250 for other courses. Expectedly, the annoying increment sparked protests among students.

FG punishing Nigerians for its inability to curb corruption, standardise processes

Nothing is more gut-wrenching than some of the explanations given by the Federal Government for the hike in fees and service charges, especially given that hikes are not happening in a vacuum but against a backdrop of rising inflation, stagnant wages, soaring unemployment, and sundry pre-existing economic hardships.

The government’s claim that increasing fees removes middlemen who exploit bottlenecks in the system is largely untrue, and its claim that the increases are part of sound economic policy also flies in the face of that.

Rationalising the nearly 200 per cent increase in the cargo tariff, FAAN described it as a strategic reform” with the potential to significantly improve cargo operational efficiency and revenue performance, enhance monitoring of unaccompanied luggage, and effectively block major revenue leaks that previously affected cargo operations.

“Our target is very clear: within one week of enrolment, every Nigerian should have their passport in hand. Not just delivering quickly, but delivering quality passports that reflect our integrity as a nation,” the Minister of Interior, Dr Olubumi Tunji-Ojo, had explained the hike in passport fee.

“The system that we inherited had a six-month backlog, which we were able to clear in two and a half weeks. Nigerians will apply for passports and wait endlessly, or be asked to pay hundreds of thousands of naira.

But Nwandu Uzoka, a retired Federal Government employee, thinks that the government is punishing Nigerians for its gross incompetence in curbing corruption, and also enacting sound systems and processes.

Said he: “Minister Tunji-Ojo claimed that as chairman of the House Committee on NDDC, he had to pay hundreds of thousands to be able to get a passport for his then 12-year-old daughter. He claimed that that era is over,” but that is not true because hundreds of thousands of Nigerians are still paying bribes to get their passports. So, my question is, why financially emasculate Nigerians when the same corrupt template still holds sway? For me, the government is punishing Nigerians for its incompetence. Period.”

Spain-based Nigerian, Abel Kofomata, who agrees with Uzoka, emphasised that key documents for mobility and personal identification are becoming luxury goods for the average Nigerian, and such development, he added, has the capacity to cut out a large portion of the population from legal documentation. The high cost of legitimate documents, he added, is an impetus for the proliferation of cheaper, forged alternatives in the black market.

Asked whether there is a coherent social welfare offset under the “renewed hope” agenda? Abasumo Ekong Bassey, a legal practitioner, said: At present, there is little evidence of a coherent or adequately targeted social welfare framework that offsets the impact of these rising costs on vulnerable populations. A credible reform agenda should balance revenue generation with social protection, ensuring that the poorest are shielded from policy shocks.

“While the government may point to certain intervention programmes, their scale, targeting efficiency, and transparency remain questionable. There is also limited public clarity on how the additional revenues from these fee increases are being allocated or whether they are delivering measurable public value.”

He added that for a policy agenda branded around “renewed hope,” the disconnect between rising costs and limited social cushioning is stark, stressing that without stronger fiscal transparency, better prioritisation of public spending, and more robust safety nets, public confidence in both the intent and execution of these policies is likely to remain low.

Absence of symmetry between cost, service quality concerning

The lack of symmetry between cost and service quality is gradually breeding resentment and anger among the populace, especially given the significant, multi-layered consequences.

With a citizenry already buckling under a historic cost-of-living crisis, Bassey said: “While governments may legitimately review fees to reflect inflation, exchange rate pressures, or the cost-of-service delivery, the scale and frequency of these increases raise serious concerns. A cumulative 185 per cent hike in passport fees and nearly 200 per cent in air cargo tariffs within such a short period suggests less of a measured policy adjustment and more of an aggressive revenue drive.

“In principle, cost-reflective pricing can be justified where there is a clear link to improved service delivery, efficiency, or infrastructure development. However, in the Nigerian context, there is limited evidence that these steep increases are matched by corresponding improvements in service quality. Instead, they appear abrupt, poorly sequenced, and insufficiently communicated. Ultimately, while some adjustment may be defensible, the magnitude and pattern of these increments point to weak policy coordination and an overreliance on administrative charges rather than sustainable economic reforms.”

Also, in agreement that there is often no commensurate improvement in service quality, as Nigerians still endure long queues, frequent technical breakdowns, and administrative bottlenecks at offices where fees have just skyrocketed, is public financial management and social protection expert, Prof. Chiwuike Uba.

He said: “In economic terms, it is a negative price-quality wedge when citizens pay more, but get no better service. This combination tells many Nigerians that the hikes are less about improving public service delivery and more about filling budget gaps.”

Beyond pointing to weak policy coordination and an overreliance on administrative charges rather than sustainable economic reforms, these increased charges appear punitive, as across the country, proof abounds that Nigerians from all walks of life are suffering from these knee-jerk increases.

These sufferings are captured in unending public outcry, available economic data from government agencies and multilateral institutions, as well as reports from credible media sources.

Only last Wednesday, the World Bank in its April 2026 Nigeria Development Update titled, “Nigeria’s Tomorrow Must Start Today: The Case for Early Childhood Development,” warned that for most Nigerians, the seeming economic recovery has yet to translate into better living conditions.

According to the report, multidimensional poverty is threatening the country’s economic potential as wage growth has lagged behind inflation, leaving real incomes under pressure and poverty levels largely unchanged.

A further illustration of the consequences of a fee hike for government services is when a copy of an international passport costs N100,000, as against the national minimum wage, which the government grudgingly fixed at N70,000; it is mathematically impossible for the average Nigerian worker to afford such an important document without passing through the eye of a needle.

Another proof of how these service charge increases hurt the populace is reflected in how each round of announcement has been greeted with massive criticisms across the traditional and social media, with organised civil society groups joining the fray. Some of these criticisms point at the fact that while a hike in fees for new number plates and driver’s licence fees will inflict more pain on Nigerians, that of an international passport will encourage corruption and racketeering.

The insatiable urge by Nigerian youths to depart the country’s shores for other climes where they think the grass is greener in search of better economic opportunities is itself further proof of widespread suffering prevalent in the polity.

‘Good governance becoming luxury good for Nigerians’

There is a growing perception that governance in Nigeria is becoming exclusionary, and in some respects, this concern is valid. Matters are made worse when good governance, which ought to mean service to the people, becomes luxurious living for the political class and misery for the led.

“When access to essential government services – such as identity documentation, transportation logistics, and vehicle registration – becomes significantly more expensive, the burden disproportionately falls on low and middle-income citizens. This creates a troubling dynamic where citizens are effectively priced out of basic civic participation. In that sense, governance risks being seen not as a public good, but as a service available only to those who can afford it,” the lawyer stated.

“Moreover, the pattern of frequent fee increases without visible improvements in accountability or service delivery reinforces the narrative of a rent-seeking state. Good governance should lower barriers, enhance inclusion, and build trust – not widen inequality or deepen public frustration.”

The political elite’s continued business-as-usual disposition has ensured that economic and political inequalities continue to deepen rapidly; hence, good governance, once understood as efficient, equitable, and affordable access to public services, is increasingly perceived as exclusive rather than inclusive. When essential services such as passports, driver’s licenses, and vehicle plates become significantly more expensive, ordinary citizens bear a cost that low-income and middle-income households cannot easily absorb.

“In a country where a substantial share of households now spend over half of their income on food and necessities, public service fees rising faster than earnings only deepens inequality… The state appears more interested in extracting funds than in serving citizens. Instead of being a manifestation of democratic accountability and public welfare, governance is becoming something that only those with disposable income can afford.

“When access to basic legitimacy, such as official identity documentation, is tied to steep fees, governance ceases to be a public good and begins to resemble a luxury good. That is the lived perception for many Nigerians today, and it is why public trust in institutions is weakening,” the development economist said.

User-fee dependency not sustainable model for governance

While individuals, civil society groups and other such bodies beg to differ on the government’s claim that increasing service fees is part of strategic reforms and facilitates the sanitisation of government processes to deliver top-notch services, economists insist that user-fee dependency is not a sustainable governance model, but simply amounts to a regressive tax on those least able to pay. Prof. Uba, a former World Bank consultant, who is the founder and Board Chairman at Amaka Chiwuike-Uba Foundation, said: “Honestly, relying heavily on user fees as a source of government revenue is neither sustainable nor equitable. While modest fees that reflect the actual cost of a service, such as passport printing or biometric systems, are justifiable, sharp and frequent increases far outpacing inflation or service improvements function as a regressive tax.

“Lower-income households end up spending a far higher proportion of their income on essential services, while wealthier citizens are largely unaffected. Overreliance on user fees also erodes public trust, as citizens perceive the government as more focused on revenue extraction than on delivering quality services. True fiscal sustainability requires a balanced approach that combines broad-based taxation, strategic investments, and limited, transparent user fees tied directly to improved service. When punitive user fees dominate, governance risks become a privilege for those who can pay rather than a right for all citizens.

For Prof. Umoh, a professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Uyo: “In my view, user-fee dependency is neither sustainable nor equitable as a model for governance in Nigeria. It may serve as a short-term and temporary source of funding for government-planned programmes and projects.

“However, given that a reasonable proportion (over 60 per cent) of the population is multi-dimensionally poor, such fees potentially limit the citizens’ access to basic services and needs. User fees breed reduced demand for services for citizens who are unable to pay. As long as these user-fees have a greater negative impact on the poor citizens, they are regressive.” (The Guardian)

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