Stop N15bn subsidy on Int’l passports; channel it to feeding inmates – Niger Delta group

A non-governmental organization in the Niger Delta has called for immediate stop to international passport subsidy. The group has rather advised that amount be added to feeding inmates.

The Niger Delta Rights Advocates (NDRA), said to be a foremost political pressure group in the Niger Delta, which made the call on the Ministry of Interior, urged the FG to discontinue the subsidy regime but to add it to inmates’ welfare at the Nigeria Correctional Services (NCoS).

The group also said it should be deployed to arms and ammunition for the Nigeria Immigration Services (NIS).

NDRA, led by Bright Ngolo as national chairman, noted with satisfaction the efforts made by Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the Interior Ministry, in clearing over N25billion obligation incurred by his predecessors in office on the importation of Nigerian passports alone.

Ngolo said: “We believe that it runs against simple economic reasoning for Nigeria to continue to subsidize international passports which are dollar denominated based on import requirements, whereas the huge sums can actually be deployed to better uses such as raising the standard of living for inmates at the 255 correctional facilities across the country.

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“Since international passports are ordinarily not the basic means of identification for an average Nigerian, we reason that more Nigerians be given the latitude of being adequately captured on the national database through the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), scale down on the rush for international passports since this only serves as a travel document for Nigerians living abroad or planning to do their businesses abroad.”

The group said this suggestion would ease off the pressure and the age long corruption that has greeted the rush for our international passport documents. “Again, Nigerians wishing to travel within the West African sub-region have the option of acquiring an ECOWAS card.”

NDRA further suggested that the Interior Ministry be made to ensure that the new price regime scheduled to kick off on September 1, 2025, does not affect Nigerians who already have initiated their passport application processes prior to the official announcements. “The NIS must ensure its passport clearance officers diligently clear the backlog of passport applications it received before September 1 2025.”