The Nigeria High Commission in London, United Kingdom, clarified that the £70 administrative fee paid by some Nigerians during the ongoing passport intervention exercise was not approved by the Federal Government. It emphasized that the standard administrative charge remains at £20.
The clarification came just a day after the mission announced that applicants who paid £70 would receive a £50 refund, with the standard fee remaining at £20.
“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 stated in a notice published on its website.
In a new public notice dated Friday, September 11th, and signed by the Nigeria High Commission in London, the mission said it was compelled to clarify circulating reports and commentaries about the charges for the intervention exercise. The mission stated that some of the information in circulation was incorrect and did not reflect its official stance.
“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 declared. The statement did not explain how the £70 charge was initially applied. This issue also prompted clarifications from the Federal Government and the Nigeria Immigration Service.
On September 8, the Federal Government denied introducing extra charges for the passport intervention exercise, stating that applicants only need to pay the official passport fees plus applicable bank charges. The Interior Ministry said neither it nor the NIS had imposed charges outside the approved passport fees.
The NIS reiterated on September 11 that no additional charges are required to participate in the intervention exercise. Originally scheduled to run until September 19, the intervention exercise has now been extended to October 3 in London and Manchester due to a high turnout.
The NIS reported that 1,477 Nigerians had been successfully processed and enrolled within the first four days, with over half of the passports already produced and dispatched.
However, the exercise has been met with complaints from Nigerians in the UK regarding passport processing delays, charges, and operational issues.
There have been reports of delays and difficulties in passport processing at the Nigerian High Commission in London, with some Nigerians expressing concerns over poor communication channels and difficulty reaching the mission. The High Commission, in its latest statement, dissociated itself from any publications or comments containing what it described as inaccurate or misleading information.
It said such publications “did not emanate from the Mission” and urged the public to disregard information not communicated through its authorized channels. The mission reaffirmed its commitment to providing efficient services to the public.
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