Reps to Investigate Lopsidedness In Immigration Replacement Exercise

The House of Representatives has received a petition against the Nigerian Immigration Services board’s alleging lopsidedness in its replacement exercise.

 

The petition signed by Mansur Hashimu and Abdulahi Salisu was presented to the House Mr. Husseini Muhammed Jalo.

 

The petitioners expressed displeasure about happenings in the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS).

 

According to the petition, on the 5th of April, 2023,  the Nigerian Immigration Service  called for applications for replacement and so many Nigerian applicants applied for this.

 

” They expected that in the usual way of doing it or as obtained before, there should have been a shortlisted candidate’s names published in either print, electronic or social medium for written or oral interview but, there was none.

 

“The next thing we heard and saw were appointment letters issued, not adhering to Federal Character policy but lopsidedly, by the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) to a particular set of applicants from a state.

 

“This lopsidedness of the replacement exercise by the Nigerian Immigration Service attracted an outcry by the citizens who saw this as an infringement on some applicants in other parts of the country.

 

“This opened outcry left the Nigerian Immigration Service with no other option of what to do than to refute and disassociate herself from the earlier publication of replacement exercise,” the petition said.

 

The petitioners however said that the Nigeria Immigration Service had following the mass condemnation and outcry about the replacement excercise, issued a statement disassociating itself from the earlier announced replacement excercise.

 

“Below is the excerpts (in part) of the Nigerian Immigration Service’s refusal/disassociation of the earlier publication, posted on the 25/02/2024, ‘The Federal Government of Nigeria has said the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) is not currently recruiting, urging Nigerians to ignore Social Media adverts.”

 

“The question here is, why didn’t the Federal Government debunk it when it was first published in 2023, ‘The Nigerian Immigration Service Board has approved the commencement of the Nigerian Immigration Service 2024 replacement’ but have to wait till almost a year until after the lopsided appointment letters got to the knowledge of the public and the public’s outcry before the reaction?

 

“We would have taken their media debunking of the replacement exercise for a point but being what most of us Nigerians are, speaking with both sides of our lips, the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) though have publicly debunked it but may still be doing the replacement exercise behind the scene or secretly,” they said.

 

They therefore called on the House to direct the replacement exercise by the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) to be stopped forthwith.

 

They also called for the investigation of the earlier appointment letters allegedly lopsidedly issued by the replacement exercise Board.

 

The House referred the petition to the House Committee on Public Petitions for further legislative action.

 

Lateefah Ibrahim