The Nigeria High Commission in London, United Kingdom, has said the £70 administrative fee collected from some Nigerians during the ongoing passport intervention exercise was not authorised by the Federal Government.
The mission explained that the approved administrative charge for the exercise remains £20, adding that applicants who paid £70 would be refunded £50.
“This is to inform all passport intervention applicants who have paid a £70 admin fee that £50 will be refunded to you, £20 being the standard admin fee,” the commission said in an earlier notice published on its website.
In a fresh notice dated September 11 and signed by the Nigeria High Commission, London, the mission said it issued the clarification following reports and commentaries circulating about the charges for the intervention exercise.
The commission said some of the information in circulation was inaccurate and did not reflect its official position.
“For the avoidance of doubt, any claim suggesting that an administrative fee of £70.00 received presidential approval is incorrect.
The approved standard administrative charge remains £20.00,” the High Commission stated.
The mission did not state how the £70 charge was introduced, but the controversy had earlier prompted reactions from the Federal Government and the Nigeria Immigration Service.
On September 8, the Federal Government said it had not introduced any additional charges for the passport intervention exercise, explaining that applicants were only expected to pay the approved passport fees, apart from applicable bank charges.
The Interior Ministry also said neither it nor the NIS had imposed any charges outside the approved passport fees, while the NIS reiterated on September 11 that no extra payment was required to participate in the exercise.
The intervention exercise, initially scheduled to end on September 19, has now been extended to October 3 in London and Manchester following the large turnout of applicants.
According to the NIS, 1,477 Nigerians were successfully processed and enrolled within the first four days of the exercise, while more than half of the passports had already been produced and dispatched.
The exercise has nevertheless attracted complaints from Nigerians in the UK over passport processing, fees and other operational challenges.
The PUNCH had earlier reported concerns about delays and difficulties encountered by applicants at the Nigerian High Commission in London, including complaints about poor communication channels and difficulties contacting the mission.
In its latest statement, the High Commission distanced itself from publications and commentaries containing what it described as inaccurate or misleading information.
It said such publications “did not emanate from the Mission” and urged members of the public to disregard information that was not released through its authorised channels.
The mission added that it remained committed to providing efficient services to members of the public.
