Yemisi Izuora
Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has commended the Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, for progress 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 said 2019 was a year of significant attainment for the NIS.
Aregbesola, said that during the public presentation of the fourth edition of NIS Annual Report since the commencement of this administration in 2016, observed that the 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.
The Minister added that all NIS Annual Reports are 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 is established on three fundamental objectives which are 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)
He assured that the Ministry of Interior will continue to play its part in ensuring that all agencies under the supervision of the Ministry succeed in their respective mandates.
While commending the document to Nigerians, he encouraged all to go through it, as it is very significant with a lot of important data and information which are useful for national planning, decision making, research work, education and business development.
The Minister congratulated NIS for impressive achievements recorded in 2019 and urged them to do more to surpass this 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.