Group Commends Immigration Boss for Structuring NIS

Sunday Okobi

As President Muhammed Buhari intensifies the anti-corruption fight in the country’s public service, the Comptroller General of Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), Muhammed Babandede, has been highly commended for establishing tough measures, standards and benchmarks to curtail corruption in the service.

The commendation was contained in a statement issued by the president of the Coalition of Civil Society and Media Executives for Policy Stability (COCMEP), Innocent Ebirim Okadigbo, in Abuja.

Ebirim, in the statement which was made available to THISDAY, expressed delight that abi nitio, Babandede read a riot act and made it sufficiently clear that with him as the CGI, it is no more business as usual in the service, and “true to his vowed commitment to curb corruption in NIS. He said the immigration boss had kicked against the ‘return system’ where junior officers compromise senior officers with proceeds of corruption; abolished lobbying and dollarisation of foreign postings. The media group further lauded the NIS boss for the retrieval of diplomatic passports from former political office holders; issuance of ultimatum to passports officers to clear backlog of passport issues within 48 hours and to henceforth issue new passports within 72 hours.

COCMEP described the automation of the operations of NIS and the limiting of officers’ posting to a maximum of two years as good steps to curb corruption in the service.

The group president therefore urged all stakeholders particularly the media to rally round the new Immigration boss and to support him to ensure that his reforms, changes and anti-corruption measures are successful.

He further charged the entire men and officers of NIS to embrace the changes in the system and rid the service of past impunities for a better Nigeria.

Related Articles