A major administrative flaw within the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) payment portal that inadvertently classified international students as highly-paid expatriate workers, thereby levying exorbitant visa fees, has been swiftly corrected following an intervention led by former Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, reports ITREALMS.
The issue, which directly threatened Nigeria’s ambition to become an education export hub, was exposed during a recent visit by Mr. Chidoka to the Lux Terra Leadership Foundation in Abuja. Mr. Chidoka detailed the encounter with the founder of Lux Terra, Rev. Fr. George Ehusani, who highlighted the massive financial barrier facing their newly admitted international students.
The Lux Terra Psycho-Spiritual Institute, which is NUC-accredited, had successfully attracted its first set of foreign students, but the problem arose when these students attempted to obtain their study permits.
Mr. Chidoka noted that Fr. Ehusani shared that their first set of international students arrived in Nigeria in September 2025, only to be told that obtaining a one-year study permit would cost $1,481.06 per student, the same fee imposed on expatriate workers, a stark contrast to the $40 to $110 charged in most other African countries.
The Lux Terra Foundation was forced to pay nearly ₦4.5 million for just two Rwandan students, leading Fr. Ehusani to contemplate redirecting future applicants to their Nairobi campus to avoid the prohibitive cost, as the NIS portal, lacking a specific student visa category, defaulted to the costly expatriate classification.
Acting quickly on the evidence provided, Mr. Chidoka reached out to the Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.
Acting quickly on the evidence provided, Mr. Chidoka reached out to the Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.
The Minister immediately clarified that the excessive charge was an unintended administrative error linked to the new Expatriate Comprehensive Insurance (ECI) scheme, which was specifically designed for foreign employees to cover repatriation costs but had been mistakenly applied to students.
Mr. Chidoka confirmed that minutes later, the Minister called back to confirm that the error had been corrected and that student visas were no longer included in the insurance requirement, praising the swift governmental action.
He commended Minister Tunji-Ojo, stating, “Leadership is about listening, and he acted immediately.” Mr. Chidoka also assured Fr. Ehusani that he would follow up on the recovery of the ₦4.5 million already paid.
While the immediate error was rectified, Mr. Chidoka stressed that the incident brings to the fore Nigeria’s significant trade deficit in education.
ITREALMS gathered that data reveals a disturbing trend: Nigerians spent $1.39 billion (₦2.16 trillion) on foreign education in the first half of 2025, yet the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), recorded zero income from education exports, meaning no inflow from international students.
Mr. Chidoka emphasized that education is a low-hanging fruit with a massive multiplier effect for economic growth.
He concluded: “If we want a modern, competitive economy, we must reverse the trend of all exports and no imports. I believe it is time to set a national target for the number of international students our public and private universities must attract annually and shape our policies to support that goal.”
The swift correction by the Minister of Interior is seen as a positive step toward removing bureaucratic obstacles and aligning national policies with the ambition of establishing Nigeria as a regional leader in educational services.
By Remmy Nweke/DoP
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