The Nigerian labour leaders have condemned in clear terms the planned increase of the price of Nigerian International Passport from N22,000 to N70,000.
The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that the Nigerian Immigration Service had announced that the new e-passport, to be valid for 10 years, will cost N70,000 with effect from March 4.
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The labour leaders told NAN on Wednesday in Lagos that many workers would not be able to travel abroad unless the fee is reviewed downwards.
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“The fact that the NIS has extended the number of years from five to 10 years is not a good reason to triple the cost of the passport.’’
Onyeka pleaded with the NIS to reduce the price to N40,000 or N50,000 to enable the populace to afford the document.
“It will be difficult for Nigerians to travel on the new price and this development will hamper their fundamental human rights.’’
President of the National Union of Chemical, Footwear, Rubber, Leather and Non-Metallic Product Employees, Mr. Olagoke Olatunji, also condemned the new fee, appealing for a downward review.
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Olatunji noted that it would take a worker on the current N18, 000 minimum wage up to four months’ salary to be able to acquire a passport with the new price.
Similarly, the TUC in a statement said that it was insensitive on the part of the NIS to hike passport fees at this point in time.
The TUC President, Mr Bobboi Kaigama, and the Secretary of the body, Mr Musa Lawal-Ozigi, in the statement, said that if allowed to scale through, civil servants would save their salaries for three months with the new minimum wage to be able to pay for a passport.
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â€What about feeding, rent, school fees and other utilities? This will not work. We appeal to the NIS to look into the matter.â€
The TUC said that the fee hike would also affect many Nigerians, who had been using their travelling passports for transactions.
(NAN)
www;sojworld.com (c) January 31, 2019
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