Comptroller General of the Nigerian Immigration, Muhammad Babandede. [Photo credit: Channels TV & YouTube.com]
Officers of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) would undergo a drug test, the Comptroller General of the Service, Muhammad Babandede, has said.
According to a statement by the service’s spokesperson, Sunday James, on Sunday, Mr Babandede made the announcement at the third Conversion/Upgrading Course held at the Premier Immigration Training School in Kano State.
He said the exercise would commence with him as it is aimed at ensuring that personnel discharge their duties professionally.
He harped on the need for personnel of the service to be cautious as they carry arms in line of duty, assuring that those who test positive at first would not be dismissed.
“As armed services, we cannot afford to be careless with the weapon. Hence all officers of the Service will undergo drug test, beginning with me.
“We shall not dismiss anyone at first discovery, but try to rehabilitate. If the fellow continued unrepentant, administrative procedures will be followed and appropriate sanctions applied,” he said.
He said the NIS has invested in training and capacity development of staff.
He also encouraged the participants to maximize the knowledge of ICT gained to uplift the standard expected of the service among other sister agencies, without competing but complementing each other wherever and whenever the need arises.
Visa on arrival policy
Mr Babandede said the ‘Visa on Arrival’ policy is an opportunity for Africans coming for legitimate businesses to thrive in countries other than theirs.
Additionally, he said, it is a means of integration and cementing African brotherhood relationships, thereby breaking down the barriers to free movement among fellow Africans.
PREMIUM TIMES reported how President Muhammadu Buhari announced that all African migrants will be eligible for visa on arrival policy by 2020.
The Senate has since summoned the interior minister over the policy, with some lawmakers questioning how such policy was decided on without debate.
Last year, the Nigerian government unveiled the visa on arrival policy for selected categories of people.
Over 2,000 of such visas were given to potential investors at Nigeria’s main airport in Lagos in July.
The comptroller general promised Nigerians that the policy would be handled professionally while adopting best known global practices to liberalise the ‘Visa on Arrival’ regime without compromising national security.
He also said a presidential amnesty was granted by President Buhari for non-Nigerians living in Nigeria to register with the federal government, stressing that the six-month window would expire in January 2020.
He warned that any defaulter who refuses to take advantage of the opportunity would be removed from the country. Premium Tmes
