The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has said that the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) is taking the lead in changing the paradigm of how public sector should operate in Nigeria not only in terms of publication of performance report but as demonstrated in other forward-looking and creative reforms that the Service has undertaken within the period under review.
Aregbesola who made this remark at the public presentation of the 2019 edition of NIS Annual Report added that all NIS Annual Reports were presented as a new means of assessment, improvement, planning, retrospection, studying and management that will engender greater transparency, better decision making and improved processes.
He disclosed that the report was established on three fundamental objectives which were in tandem with the agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari‘s administration of Security (in terms of border management, irregular migration, interception and arrest of cross-border criminals etc.), Economy (revenue generation and economic growth through effective service delivery from visa, Passport and residence Permits) and Transparency (openness in terms of presentation to the public).
The Minister said that 2019 was a year of significant attainment for NIS adding that excellent progress was made on implementation of a number of reforms in the area of border management, passport and other travel documents, visa, migration management, human resources and infrastructure.
He assured that the Ministry of Interior would continue to play its part in ensuring that all agencies under the supervision of the Ministry succeed in their respective mandates.
While presenting the document to Nigerians, he encouraged all to go through it, as it was very significant with a lot of important data and information which were useful for national planning, decision making, research work, education and business development.
The Honourable Minister congratulated NIS for impressive achievements recorded in 2019 and urged them to do more to surpass the record in 2020. He also encouraged the Service to take advantage of the opportunities of new discoveries, creative ideas and adaptability presented by COVID-19 pandemic while urging Nigerians to stay safe and observe all guidelines provided by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to combat the pandemic.
He added that in the year under review, the Service commissioned two additional Forward Operating Bases (FOB) in Oja-Odan, Ogun State and Daura, Katsina State, bringing the total number of FOBs nationwide to 12. The nation’s International Airports, land borders and Seaports were equipped with Border Management and Information System (BMIS).
The coverage and installation of Migration Information and Data Analysis System (MIDAS) was expanded at air, land and sea. The Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for combating SOM was developed and validated. Also, in furtherance of internal control measures and migration management, the Service successfully launched the Migrant e-Registration exercise in July 2019.
The Comptroller General of Immigration, CGI Muhammad Babandede, in his speech said that in a bid to improve the quality of the Passport and to ease the processes in line with the Ease of Doing Business agenda of the government, the enhanced e-Passport was introduced and launched by Mr. President on 15th January, 2019.
Babanded further said that a modern one-stop Passport processing front office was commissioned at the Service Headquarters which would be replicated in all passport offices nationwide stating that more service windows for Passport and visa processing were commissioned at Tokyo, Japan and Seoul, South Korea.
On capacity building, the CGI said the Service in 2019 conducted over 60 training and re-training programmes, seminars workshops and conferences. He added that the Service also sustained its investment in infrastructural development with the commissioning of 4 newly constructed Command complexes, 7 new Divisional Office complexes, 4 new Fag Houses for ACGs and Comptrollers.
He also added in the list, construction of access roads, new central store, main entrance gate and Pavilion at the Service Headquarters as well as Transit Camps at border areas and designated formations. He revealed that works were progressing in 50 other projects that had reached 80% completion across the country including the Technology building and auditorium at the Service Headquarters.
Photo: Nigeria’s Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.
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