US-based Nigerian claims passport renewal ordeal cost over ₦1m
A United States-based Nigerian, Sage Vincent Ike, has alleged that renewing his Nigerian passport cost him more than ₦1 million after months of delays, repeated payments and administrative hurdles, despite ongoing reforms to the passport application process.
According to Punch, Ike shared his experience in a series of posts on X, describing a four-month process that disrupted his travel plans and resulted in substantial financial losses.
He said he applied to renew his passport in March 2026 ahead of its May expiration, having already booked a trip to Japan, a 15-day Princess Cruise to Japan and South Korea, and a planned visit to Nigeria.
Ike explained that his biometric appointment at the Nigerian Consulate in Atlanta, scheduled for March 19, was unsuccessful after he travelled about three hours from North Carolina only to discover the office had closed for the Eid-el-Fitr holiday without prior notice.
He eventually completed his biometric capture on March 27 and said he paid $230 for a 10-year passport and a correction to the arrangement of his names, which was processed as a change of data. He added that he was also charged $50 to have the passport mailed despite providing a self-addressed envelope, bringing his total payment in the US to $280, estimated at about ₦414,400.
According to him, although his acknowledgement slip indicated the passport would be ready by April 1, officials informed him the date had been automatically generated and advised that processing would take between three and six weeks.
After waiting several months without receiving the passport, Ike said his attempts to contact the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, and the Nigeria Immigration Service through email, social media and WhatsApp yielded no response.
Frustrated, he said he contacted a retired immigration officer in Nigeria, who requested ₦260,000 to begin processing another passport application before his arrival. He claimed he later paid an additional ₦100,000 for a fresh change-of-data approval and another ₦100,000 after being informed that the passport initiated in Atlanta had to be produced before a new one could be processed.
Ike said he had spent ₦460,000 in Nigeria alone, in addition to the payments made in the United States.
He further alleged that after the passport was eventually produced in Atlanta on July 15, a family friend sent to collect it was told to either present an authorisation letter or pay $150 before it could be released. According to him, the payment was made due to time constraints.
He added that he paid $176.35 through DHL to send the passport to Nigeria and also incurred hotel, feeding and flight change expenses because he could not leave the country without the document.
Ike said he finally received the passport on July 22 and returned to the United States on July 24.
Responding to the allegations on X, the Nigeria Immigration Service apologised for the inconvenience and clarified that duplicate passport applications are subjected to a strict verification process to protect the integrity of the passport issuance system.
The agency also described the alleged $150 payment for third-party passport collection as illegal, advising applicants not to patronise touts or unauthorised agents. It stated that a signed letter of authorisation is sufficient for an authorised representative to collect a passport and said it had reached out to Ike privately to resolve the matter.
Source: Punch
