…As FG unveils 2020 annual report
The Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Mr. Muhammad Babandede, on Tuesday expressed worries over the increase of marriages to Nigerian spouses, which is largely to avoid the payment of the $2,000 residence permit, which is the U.S version of the green card.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has unveiled the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) 2020 annual report with a call on stakeholders to support the Service to enable it deliver on its statutory mandate.
The report which explains holistically the revenues and expenditures of the NIS for the year ended 2020, gives every Nigerian the opportunity to peruse what the agency has achieved all through the year; what it generated and what it expended.
Represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dr. Shuaib Belgore, at the unveiling ceremony which held at the NIS Headquarters Sauka, Abuja, Aregbesola reiterated governments’ commitment to making the Service a world-class migration management agency which can compete favourably with any of its counterparts anywhere in the world so as to enable it serve Nigerians and foreigners better
He stated that he was particularly pleased with the verifiable data and information related to Border Management, Travel Documents, Visa Administration, Residence Permits, Enforcement and Compliance as well as Financial Reports, saying they were proofs of the commitment of the NIS and indeed, the ministry to complying with transparency and anti-corruption posture of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Administration.
The Minister expressed optimism that the recent commissioning of the NIS technology building and the anticipated harmonisation of all databases on the operations and activities of the Service would enhance a seamless platform for sharing of information with relevant stakeholders as well as making future annual reports more robust and impeccable.
While thanking President Muhammadu Buhari for the successful implementation of several initiatives and programmes by the NIS other agencies under the supervision of the ministry, Aregbesola urged the management of the NIS to circulate the report to all critical stakeholders of the Service to sensitize them on the operations and activities during the year under review so as to give room for necessary dispassionate assessment of the Service which will expectedly provide a springboard for better performance in the years ahead.
Babandede, who expressed worries over the increase of marriages to Nigerian spouses, which is largely to avoid the payment of the $2,000 Residence Permit, said the Service’s Annual Report gives every Nigerian the opportunity to cross check what NIS has achieved through the year.
According to him: “despite several arrests and deportation orders signed by the Minister of Interior, he saw a sharp increase in December 2020 compared with previous months in the year. This is a call for action since a fake marriage will continue to undermine revenue, take away jobs from Nigerians and pose a security challenge to the country.”