The Federal Government has denied introducing additional charges for Nigerians applying for international passports under the ongoing special intervention exercise in the United Kingdom.

Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, gave the clarification on Monday following complaints from some Nigerians over delays and difficulties experienced during the passport application process.

Tunji-Ojo said applicants were required to pay only the approved passport fees of $150 for a five-year validity passport and $230 for a 10-year validity passport, excluding applicable bank charges.

He stressed that neither the Ministry of Interior nor the Nigeria Immigration Service had introduced additional charges for the intervention exercise.

“It is therefore necessary to clarify that this process does not come with extra cost different from the official fees of $150 and $230,” the minister said in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Alao Babatunde.

The clarification followed reports of delays, long queues and other difficulties experienced by applicants at some intervention centres, including Manchester.

The special intervention exercise was introduced to provide Nigerians in the UK with additional options for processing new, pending and renewal passport applications.

The government said consultations were ongoing with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to address the challenges reported during the exercise and prevent further inconvenience to applicants.

The Nigeria High Commission in London said the September intervention exercise is being conducted jointly with the Nigeria Immigration Service across several UK cities, including Manchester, London, Cardiff and Aberdeen.

The Federal Government urged applicants to use the approved channels for passport applications and avoid paying unauthorised charges.