The Federal Government has decorated the newly appointed Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Mrs Adepoju Caroline Wura-Ola, with her new rank.
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Also decorated were the six newly appointed Deputy Comptrollers-General of the NIS whose appointments were approved alongside the CG by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Monday, December 4.
With the confirmation of her appointment, Wura-Ola becomes the 18th substantive Comptroller General of the NIS and third female CG to be appointed by the Federal Government. Wura-Ola had been serving as CG in acting capacity since 1st June, 2023.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who decorated the top echelon officers of NIS late Wednesday in Abuja with their new ranks, charged them to see their elevation as call for more work while also reminding them of the enormous task ahead of them.
He asked the elevated officers to be more dedicated to their duties by giving their best at all times to move the Service to enviable heights.
Tunji-Ojo pledged to undertake surgical review of the entire system to allow officers get to the top of their careers early enough to be able to add value and contribute meaningfully to the development of the Service, saying he was not happy that some of those being decorated as DCGs were already at the end of their careers.
“The NIS is a very important agency. I believe in building stronger institutions than in building men because men will go while institutions remain.
“I am happy for you that today you are decorated with your new ranks; I am also not too happy because some of you are getting decorated almost at the end of your careers,” the minister said.
Tunji-Ojo said the Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board (CDCFIB) which he is the chairman, would review and rework the whole system to put the staff and workers of Immigration Service at the centre of what the Ministry is doing.
According to him, the work of Immigration Service is critical to national security, noting that if the Service is doing its job well, with borders properly manned, the military, Police and other agencies would have less work to do in securing the country.
“We will make sure that henceforth people get promoted at the right time as against the way it used to be before I came on board as minister.
“I assure you that we will work to ensure the review of the whole NIS system for effective and efficient service delivery,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He promised to prioritise training and retraining of NIS personnel as well as enhance their welfare to encourage them to put in their best.
He acknowledged the fact that most of the personnel never had the opportunity to undergo any kind of training either overseas or within the country.
While emphasising on the need to train and retrain of officers of the Service, the Minister said deployment of technology alone, would not secure borders or provide other services provided by the NIS, hence personnel training and development must be given priority attention.
“This cannot continue under my watch. People must be trained to enable them to give their best, especially in the area of modern border control.
“The Service must regain its glory and take its rightful pride of place.
“If a nation cannot secure its borders, such nation can never safeguard its citizens.
“The ability of Nigerians to be able to sleep with their two eyes closed rests on your shoulders,” the minister told Immigration officers.
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