29th June, 2024
By Maduabuchi Nmeribeh /Kano
Global Vice Chairman of the International Commission for Peace and Good Governance, Ambassador Hussaini Haruna Commassie, has advocated for
independence of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) from the Ministry of Interior to allow the Service to perform its functions and operations better without bureaucratic hitches.
Ambassador Coomassie, who is also the Head of Mission, International Peace Commission, Nigeria, decried the under-funding of NIS and called for improved budget allocation and logistics to enable the Service to discharge its duties effectively.
He spoke to a select group of journalists in Kano while accompanying the Comptroller-General of NIS, Kemi Nana Nandap, on a fact-finding tour to Kano, Jigawa, and Katsina states.
According to him, “Immigration is a very important government agency, but it has been neglected over the years in Nigeria.
” Most of these insurgents operating in the North-West infiltrate the region as a result of porous borders. Both the recognized and secret borders are unmanned.”
He listed schedules of the NIS Comptroller-General’s visit to include looking at NIS formations in Kano state and capturing border conditions and situations in Jigawa and Katsina states.
According to him, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu tasked the NIS Comptroller-General to secure the borders, “she has visited Kebbi. Now it is Kano, Jigawa and Katsina. Her next visit is Borno, Adamawa, down to Calabar.”
He, however, insisted that, ” what the Immigration needs now is the support of the Federal Government. Immigration is the first mirror of this country coming in and going out.
” But the Immigration is not properly equipped. The Federal Government should come to the aide of Immigration, like it used to be in the 1980 to 1983. That time, the border operations were directly under the presidency.
“The work of the Interior Ministry is to make policy, but Immigration is operational. So, the Immigration is supposed to be well-funded directly from the Presidency.
“Immigration’s job is wide. The Federal Government should come to the aide of Immigration. It is high time the Immigration be removed from the Interior Ministry. Look at a lot happening in the E-border. The Interior Ministry has taken over the E-border.
“So, I will call on the Federal Government to make Immigration independent from the Interior Ministry.”
