The Comptroller General of Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Muhammad Babandede has warned officers and men of the service to shun corruption and nepotism even as he emphasized that personnel must not use the weapons assigned to them for enhancement of the job, to harass or intimidate the citizenry.
Babandede who spoke at the decoration ceremony of 53 Comptrollers of Immigration who are among the 3,413 officers recently promoted by the service, vowed that there was no going back on the determination to ensure the successful implementation of the E-Passport policy , while the Visa on Arrival system has evolved from e-mail to web-based.
The 2018 promotion list as approved by the Civil Defence, Fire, Immigration and Prisons Services Board (CDFIPB), has 53 Comptrollers of Immigration, 114 Deputy Comptrollers of Immigration and 146 Assistant Comptrollers of Immigration.
Further breakdown includes 96 Chief Superintendents, 303 Superintendents, 78 assistant Superintendents of immigration while 2,254 others were promoted across the ranks of Chief Inspectors, Deputy Chief inspectors, Assistant Chief Inspectors, Principal Inspectors and Senior Inspectors of Immigration.
The Comptroller General said, “We are putting everything in place to ensure that the service makes a very positive impact on the security matrix of the country as well as providing enabling environment for trade and tourism.
“Recently, we have launched the enhanced e-passport, while the visa on arrival has evolved from e-mail to web-based. We also intend to, in the next few days commence the migrants e-registration.
“Accordingly, I wish to impress it on you (personnel), that you are the drivers of all these deliberate reforms to transform the service into a true cashless organization devoid of bribery and corruption and truly oriented, to delivering quality service to the service’s teeming clientele.
“The present administration is committed to transform the service into the Nigerian Immigration Service of our dream. Apart from ongoing infrastructural projects at the service headquarters, we have been able to build and commission many projects such are State Commands Office Complex; construction of Flag Houses, provided comfortable accommodations in all border control posts.
“We also provided operational and patrol vehicles with communication gadgets and renovated barracks in all the states of the federation.
Furthermore he said, “As Comptrollers of Immigration, and managers of our resources, I challenge all of you to bring up ideas that will assist us to do more and improve on the living standards of our officers and men. Where you feel management has done well, try and improve on it and where you notice our shortcomings, draw our attention to it with an objective mind, so as to make corrections for the betterment of the service and the nation at large.
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