Concerned stakeholders at the corridor of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS have described allegations of high handedness in the recent review of postings of Immigration officials to foreign missions, leveled against the Comptroller General, Kemi Nanna Nandap, as unfounded, mud sliding and nothing but a vendetta to whittle down the ongoing progress at the NIS.
Describing accusers as a faceless and sponsored group, a statement signed by Barr. Ayodele Kolawole esq, a retired Deputy Comptroller of Immigration berated the CSO while hailing the current leadership of Mrs Nandap.
It would be recalled that the Immigration CG had withdrawn foreign postings of about 80 officers over ‘procedural issues’. The officers had been posted to a slew of Nigerian missions abroad by Caroline Wura-Ola Adepoju, who recently retired as CG of the service and her predecessor CGI Isah Jere Idris rtd.
However, in a letter dated March 5, 2024, Nandap, the current CGI through G.C Didel, assistant comptroller-general, asked the officers to return their original posting letters to “effect certain procedural and administrative issues”.
Reacting to the development, and the high-handedness accusation leveled against Nandap, Ayodele Kolawole, a lawyer and a retired Deputy Comptroller of Immigration berated the National Spokesman of COCSOACB, a Civil Society Organisation who accused the incumbent CGI of overbearing authority.
Kolawole described the CSO as a faceless body on a mission to downplay the good work the incumbent CGI has done since the assumption of office just three months ago. He added that no such effort will deter the ongoing sanitary exercise at the NIS under the leadership of CGI Nandap.
“We would like to unequivocally caution one Dr. Oluwarotimi Ayenugana, the National Spokesman of COCSOACB to desist from joining issues with the CG of Immigration. He should rather devout such energy on the corruption allegations levelled against the Hon. Minister of Arts & Culture.
“As far as we are concerned, the Immigration boss has not violated any law whatsoever on the review of the Foreign Mission list, and the CGI has never been found or connected with any corruption matter as a career government official within and outside her duty.
“We consider any form of name-calling or joining procedural matters with the CGI, an interference in the internal affairs at the NIS; this is unacceptable neither would a defamatory statement against the person of Mrs Nandap be allowed.
“It is within the jurisprudent of the CGI’s powers to review the posting of her officers as the agency procedures demand; besides, all efforts at sanitizing the system at the NIS is geared towards the ongoing reform being carried out by the incumbent at the NIS’s switchboard.
“The much talk about favouritism and lack of due diligence by the previous administration at the NIS, including lopsided foreign postings leading to all forms of irregularities must be addressed by the new leadership at the NIS
“It will also interest the general public to know that the NIS is a regimental agency and definitely not a civil organization. Foreign postings require due diligence, merit, and not by anyone’s right.
“Officials at NIS are given similar training to discharge their duties wherever they are posted. We therefore lend our voice to the issue of foreign postings, that there should be no going back on the process being followed by the CGI, Nandap.
“The process being followed is done in good faith given the due process being applied to the screening of the Officers concerned. The NIS can not and will not be intimidated by faceless groups or any CSO who are looking for cheap publicity.
“The incumbent CGI is doing her best to take the Service to the next level in line with the Renewed Hope agenda of President Bola Tinubu led administration.
“Having inherited a backlog of debt at the NIS, poor staff welfare, lack of proper border management, indiscipline, and high rate of corruption at the passport offices, among others; Nandap was able to clear the backlog of more than 1 million International Passports.
”The CGI, in collaboration with the Ministry of Interior, introduced the E-gate at our airports and user-friendly E-visa. She is currently on a nationwide fact-finding mission across the nation’s borders in her quest to secure our porous borders. All these happened within the pace of her first 100 days in office, and we are proud of her.
“We are using this opportunity to urge the CGI Kemi Nandap to be more focused on the good work she has started, not allow herself to be distracted by mischief makers.
“We have already passed a vote of confidence on the person of Mrs Kemi Nandap, and the general public is advised to disregard any form of misinformation capable of bringing disrepute or interference in the internal affairs of a regimental agency of government, the NIS.” The statement reads.
