Two documents, two spellings of what should be one name. It is one of the most common snags in Nigerian paperwork.
Why this happens so often
Names pass through many hands before they end up on a document. A registration clerk, a data entry form, a phone typed in a hurry.
Add in maiden names, nicknames used at enrolment, and long names shortened for space on a form, and a mismatch becomes almost expected rather than rare.
Which document to treat as correct
There is no single national rule that says which record automatically wins.
In practice, most people anchor on their earliest or strongest document, often a birth certificate, and treat later records as the ones that need correcting.
Fixing the odd one out
Once you know which spelling is correct, the fix is usually a sworn affidavit naming both versions and stating which one is right.
Agencies then update their own record from that affidavit. NIMC's fee for this kind of change is ₦2,000. On a passport, immigration's own charge for a correction of data is ₦30,000.
When you need a fresh affidavit
A one-letter typo might be fixed directly on some portals, without a fresh affidavit each time.
Anything that changes how the name reads, rather than fixing an obvious slip, is safer done with a sworn affidavit. See affidavit to correct a misspelt name for what that should say.
What to do before a deadline
Start as soon as you notice the mismatch, not once a deadline is close.
None of these corrections happen in a single sitting. A court affidavit, an agency's own review, and any newspaper notice all take their own time, one after another rather than all at once.
If the mismatch is between you and a family member's records
Sometimes the mismatch is not within your own documents, but between yours and a parent's or a spouse's, such as a surname spelled two ways across a family.
The same approach applies. Pick the version you can best support with an early document, then correct the others to match it, one agency at a time.
Common mistakes
- Assuming a mismatch will sort itself out once an official notices it. It will not.
- Correcting one document and leaving two others still disagreeing with it.
- Using a nickname or a shortened name on a fresh application, adding a third version instead of fixing the two you already have.
- Guessing which spelling is correct instead of checking your earliest document properly.
- Leaving the fix until the exact week you need the document, rather than as soon as you spot the mismatch.
For the wider set of affidavit and name change questions, see our affidavit guides, including the order to update your documents after a name change.