Nigeria Immigration Promotes 7,000 Officers

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has confirmed the promotion of 7,000 officers across various ranks and departments.

The promotion was confirmed by the NIS on Wednesday was approved by its board and was carried out under the leadership of Acting Comptroller General (CG) Wuraola Adepoju.

NIS spokesperson, Kenneth Kure in the statement disclosed that the promotion of the officers was contained in a letter signed by the Secretary of the Immigration, Civil Defense, Correctional and Fire Service Board, Alhaji Jafaru Ahmed.

According to Kure, the number of promoted officers include both senior officers who sat for the regular exams as well as the junior staff who were upgraded after acquiring additional qualifications.

In another development, the acting NIS Comptroller General, Adepoju also approved the appointment of the erstwhile Service spokesman, Tony Akuneme as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Command Comptroller.

In the same vein, Comptroller Joseph Dada has also been appointed as the new Principal Staff Officer to the CG as confirmed by Kure.

“Mr Dada, a graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile Ife, has served in various commands in the NIS and was until his recent appointment, the Comptroller in charge of Marine Border Corps in the Service Headquarters,” Kure said.

Kure also noted that 12 Comptrollers were recently redeployed to different states, including FCT, Kano, Jigawa, Ondo, Ogun, Mfum Border Control among others.

The acting CG, Adepoju charged the officers and men of the Service to put the image of the Service above personal interests as the NIS remains a foremost Agency for international visitors.

“She promised to prioritize personnel welfare, asserting that henceforth promotion would be based strictly on seniority, hard work, and dedication to duty,” Kure said.

Adepoju, however, decried the stagnation of some older officers.

“It is disheartening to see them stagnated while newly recruited ones are moving over and above them in ranks.

“Any staff who is not well motivated cannot guarantee quality output,” she said.

Adepoju meanwhile recently stated that the NIS is leveraging technology and instituting robust administrative measures to enhance the passport application and issuance process.

She urged all Nigerians to remain patient and cooperate with the NIS as it takes decisive steps to address the Passport crisis.

The NIS boss also assured the public that efforts are being made to ensure that every eligible Nigerian who requires a Passport can obtain one in a timely manner.