The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has reacted to the outrage over the disparity in charges for passport.
Nigerians are condemning the different rates on the NIS website for states in the North and South.
The screenshots posted on social media compared the prices for a 32-page 5-year Standard Passport.
The fee in Ekiti, Imo, Abia, Ogun states show N10,750 while the fee for Sokoto, Adamawa, and Kaduna is N25,000.
But the NIS explained that Kaduna was still on electronic mode and yet to be linked to the enhanced ePassport Centre.
A statement on its Twitter account said passports are issued regardless of where the applicants live.
“What we do have are two passport regimes that are running concurrently. They are the electronic passport and enhanced electronic passport
“The latter is an improvement of the former. It is a product of the latest technology in passport issuance.”
NIS said it has improved security features, a polycarbonate data page and in three categories – 32-page five-year validity for N25,000; 64-page five- year for N35,000; 64-page 10-year validity for N70,000.
The NIS added that the electronic passport was the usual one the country has been issuing since the introduction of e-passport in 2007.
“The fee chargeable range from N8,750 to N17,800 depending on age of the applicant and category of Passport.”
The statement said all Passport Centres are being migrated to the enhanced ePassport regime.
“Centres in South-South, South-West and South-East including our desks in the UK and USA have been fully migrated to the enhanced regime.
“Centres in the North-West, North-East, Canada and others are getting ready for migration to the enhanced Passport regime very soon”, it added