Nigeria Immigration contradicts ministry over planned ‘commercialisation’ of residency permit processes, others

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has denied the report of a planned ‘commercialisation’ of certain services offered by the agency such as the issuance of residency permits, by the Ministry of Interior- its supervising authority.

A statement issued by the NIS and signed by its spokesman, Tony Akuneme, contradicted the advertorial by the ministry as published on page three of the Tenders Journal of 23 January, and signed by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Shuaibu Belgore.

The ministry that was responsible for the advertorial has not denied the report.

Backstory

In its report titled: “Months to tenure expiration, Aregbesola set to ‘commercialise’ Nigeria’s residency permit processes, others,” and published on 1 February, PREMIUM TIMES exposed the ministry’s efforts towards licensing private agents to handle applications for individuals or groups seeking certain services offered by either the ministry or the NIS.

The new move by the Minister, Rauf Aregbesola, is against the act establishing the NIS which places the responsibility of processes of issuance of international passports, residency permits, and visas, among others, at the doorstep of the NIS and its comptroller general as the accounting officer.

The newspaper also reported that the development contradicts Mr Aregbesola’s avowed commitment to eradicating human interface in the process of relevant documents such as international passports.

The minister had always insisted on the deployment of technology to limit human interface in the application and acquisition from relevant agencies under his watch, even as he always advises applicants to desist from engaging third parties in their applications.

The advertorial, which spells out the tasks of the licensed agents and bidding processes, was titled: “Selection of Licensed Agents for the Processing of Applications Related to the Grant of Business Permits, Expatriate Quota, Formation of Statutory Marriages, Citizenship/Residency Permit and Licensing of Public Places of Worship Request for Expression of Interest (EoI).”

Interested bidders were asked to submit their applications on or before Tuesday, 7 February (today), and the application documents would be opened the same day at the expiration of the deadline for submission.

According to the notice, the tasks for the successful agents shall be “to facilitate and seek approvals on behalf of their clients for expatriate quota related matters, citizenship applications, licensing of public places of worship, as well as applications for the formation of statutory marriages.”

“The Agents will be charged with the responsibility of verifying the information provided and ensuring all requirements are satisfied while ensuring their clients meet the conditions of their permits. They would also have reporting obligations to the Ministry,” it added.

NIS’ reaction

But in its response, a copy of which was shared with PREMIUM TIMES, NIS claimed that the report was aimed at “maligning the person and office of the honourable minister,” and that it “equally tended to misinform the general public.”

The statement quoted the Comptroller General, Isah Idris, as saying that “NIS facilities were concessioned long before Aregbesola became minister,”. It further noted that: “Already, many services of the NIS have long been commercialised and warehoused in very robust partnerships with internationally acclaimed professional service providers such as CONTEC, Newworks, IRIS, Greater Washington, OIS, and others.”

The agency also gave a bold denial, saying: “The Honourable Minister of Interior is not concessioning Residency permit processes but the process of issuing Expatriate Quotas which falls directly under his mandate. The Advert under reference is on concessioning of Expatriate quota and NOT immigration facilities. This is the crux of the matter and needs to be properly understood.”

The statement credited the minister for introducing good innovations that helped the agency to win so many laurels and recognitions and warned the public against swallowing the newspaper’s report hook, line, and sinker.

Contradictions

As indicated in the PREMIUM TIMES’ report, neither the ministry nor the minister has been accused of concessioning the services rendered by the agency, rather, the report clearly indicates that the Minister plans to “commercialise” the process of accessing the services.

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For instance, while NIS has denied the commercialisation of the processes of acquiring residency permits, this is clearly contained in the advertorial issued by the ministry which listed residency permits as one of the services that can be processed through the agencies set to be licensed.

Also, a media aide to the minister, Sola Fasure, did not deny the development when contacted but only insisted that the initiative was aimed at enhancing efficiency.

Meanwhile, when contacted, the NIS spokesman, Mr Akuneme, denied knowledge of the advertorial and sought a copy from the reporter, even as he promised to revert but he never did.