Nigeria Immigration Service, headquarters
Some Nigerians have decried the present stage of poor efficiency of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) which they attributed to dearth of senior officers to man delicate positions within the organisation.
They made the criticism whereas recounting their experiences to the Information Company of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
One in every of them was a Nigerian, who returned from Europe to resume his worldwide passport, which had some two months to run out.
The respondent, who merely known as his identify Ibrahim, expressed unhappiness with the frustration he skilled within the service Headquarters to resume his passport but couldn’t be attended to.
He stated after struggling to acquire his Nationwide Identification Quantity (NIN), a precondition for the passport renewal, the service stated he might solely apply for the doc and return in two weeks for picture capturing.
The Diaspora Nigerian informed NAN that he felt embarrassed that an workplace which was coping with residents with worldwide publicity may very well be speaking about staggered processes within the issuance of passports.
“This workplace is toying with the way forward for its residents if it fails to difficulty travelling paperwork promptly on request; is it that it doesn’t have the manpower to hold out its main accountability.
‘’Nigerians overseas selected to return residence to replace their paperwork as a lot of the instances the passport booklets usually are not obtainable of their nations of residence.
‘’NIS prefers to difficulty momentary journey permits for a foreign-based applicant to return residence even after the particular person had paid a payment that’s increased than the primary passport booklet.
“That is unacceptable.’’
Visits to some passport processing places of work of the service confirmed that a whole lot of candidates turned up and would spend the entire day with out success.
NAN reliably gathered from some Nigerians throughout interview that other than the passport booklets equipped not being sufficient to fulfill demand, some officers who may very well be reported to didn’t exist.
Some Immigration officers reported that the highest stage administration of the Service was depleted because of the regular retirement of personnel and withholding of current promotion interview performed to fill the gaps.
NAN learnt that the promotion examination carried out since 2021 was hanging within the Service board’s workplace.
NAN gathered that of the eight Deputy Comptrollers-Common heading eight directorates of the service, solely two remained in service whereas six had retired since 2021.
The sources alleged that there was no signal that the Board of Civil Defence, Correctional, Hearth, and Immigration Companies, saddled with the accountability to fill the gaps, was in a rush to take action.
“As it’s, other than Account/Finance and Visa/Residency Directorates, the remaining directorates are headed by Assistant Comptrollers-Common towards the provisions of the Nigeria Immigration Act.
“A lot of the seven zonal places of work have nearly shut down owing to the unavailability of Assistant Comptrollers-Common to man them.
“For the time being solely Zone A Lagos, Zone B Kaduna, Zone E Owerri, and Zone G Benin are useful. Zones C Bauchi, Zone H Markurdi, and Minna are comatose,” they alleged.
NAN additionally gathered that there have been additionally no comptrollers at a lot of the zones whereas every of the zones is predicted to have a minimal of three comptrollers, certainly one of which ought to take cost within the absence of the Assistant Comptrollers Common.
“As it’s, a lot of the officers invited for an interview final 12 months to fill the present vacancies within the ranks of Deputy Comptrollers Common and Assistant Comptrollers Common have virtually retired.
“The remaining ones are retiring very quickly after ready in useless for the discharge of the promotion,” a supply stated.
Our supply additionally blamed the board for allegedly politicising the promotion course of.
Different respondents blamed two Commissioners of the Board, Alhaji Ado Jafaru, a former Assistant Comptroller-Common, and a sure retired Main-Common Bassey for allegedly being interested by new recruitments.
They alleged that each commissioners had been interested by upgrading their cronies as a substitute of caring for present officers.
NAN gathered that there was additionally the issue of a management tussle within the immigration service the place some officers blamed the board for preferring overaged officers to steer the service.
In response to them, as a substitute of appointing youthful individuals as Comptroller-Common of the service the board moderately most popular to increase the tenure of retired Comptrollers-Common for alleged private beneficial properties.
The authorities had been additionally accused of intentionally irritating certified officers whereas ready for his or her cronies to realize promotion age.
“This has resulted in frustration and low morale among the many officers of the service.
“The service can also be now polarised alongside ethno-religious strains. This determines each recruitments into the service and postings particularly to overseas missions and Passport Management places of work.
“Over the past recruitments train such consideration grew to become the factors for appointments resulting in denial of possibilities to candidates from some states.
“As an illustration, an investigation confirmed that whereas sure states from ‘privileged’ geopolitical zones had over 500 per state, others had been merely given 60 slots or thereabout.
“Most sections within the headquarters are presently being headed by Deputy Comptrollers as a substitute of Assistant Comptrollers Common.
“Items that ordinarily must be headed by Comptrollers are actually headed by Deputy and Assistant Comptrollers.
“Human Sources Directorate that ought to have six Assistant Comptrollers-Common now have just one, ACG (APD), whereas an important part like Coaching and Employees Growth has a Deputy Comptroller in cost,” the sources stated.
Some employees members claimed that there have been speculations that some high ministry officers and the Board had been considering switch of service to fill present vacancies as a substitute of selling certified officers.
“They wish to carry of their cronies and relations from outdoors the service to refill the present vacancies.
“The immigration Command and Employees Faculty, Sokoto has no substantive Commandant as a result of there’s Assistant Comptroller Common to be so appointed,” they stated.
When contacted, Service’ Public Relations Officer Amos Okpu, ACI, Headquarters, informed NAN that the difficulty of promotion was the Board’s accountability because the service had little or nothing to do to that impact.
The Secretary/Director of the Board, Aisha Rufai, in a phone interview informed NAN that she was indisposed to touch upon the problems raised by the sources.
One of many Commissioners on the Board ACG Ado Jafaru informed NAN on phone that the board was dealing with greater than 30,000 candidates concerned within the promotion interview.
He, nonetheless, stated the problems raised weren’t ones to be resolved within the media and suggested these aggrieved to do a proper report by means of the correct channel to the board.
