The 2023 Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has criticised the Federal Government over the recent hike in international passport fees.
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News360 Info ports that the former Governor of Anambra State said it shows how detached the Bola Tinubu administration is from the plight of ordinary Nigerians.
Writing on his verified account, Peter Obi described the policy as yet another example of misplaced priorities.
“The obsession of this administration with putting a burden on the populace is becoming legendary and continues to reveal its apparent disconnect with the people and the suffering,” Obi stated.
The former Anambra governor lamented that the cost of obtaining passports had risen steeply within a short period.
“The International Passport fees in Nigeria have now skyrocketed to ₦100,000 for a 32-page booklet and ₦200,000 for 64 pages. This is the third increase in just two years,” he said.
He noted that the development was particularly harsh when compared with the newly approved minimum wage.
“In a country where the new minimum wage is only ₦70,000, the cost of a single passport now exceeds a worker’s monthly salary, probably the only country in the world to achieve this feat,” Obi noted.
‘Making Life Harder for Nigerians’
Obi accused the administration of worsening the hardship faced by citizens instead of providing relief.
“Instead of making life easier, this government keeps shifting the burden onto ordinary Nigerians.
“It is alarming that the price of the international passport is higher than what workers earn in a month,” he added.
