We Don’t Give Job Slots to Children of the Rich—Immigration

By Ahmed Rahma

The Comptroller-General (CG) of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Mr Muhammad Babandede, has stressed that recruitment into the agency is not for sale.

Speaking at a 2-day official visit to Yola, the capital of the Adamawa State, Mr Babandede said employment into the service was purely based on merit, especially for those who are fit and qualified.

The immigration service is seeking new hands in the 2020/2021 recruitment exercise and there have been reports that some persons were asking for money from applicants.

“Recently, 370,000 people applied for the 4,900 available vacant positions from across the country for the 2020/2021 recruitment.

“After an intensive screening, we invited 70,000 applicants for examination and 50,000 appeared and sat for the examination.

“We shortlisted 6,000 candidates for final physical screening and only those that are fit and qualified will be recruited as officers of the service in the next two weeks.

“We will make sure we do justice and the appointments will be shared equally among all the 774 local government areas of the country,” Mr Babandede said when he inaugurated a Sick Bay Centre and a Forward Operation Base (FOB) at Gurin and Belel in Fufore and Maiha Local Government Areas respectively.

The NIS chief disclosed that when he assumed office in 2016, he ensured that no vacant position was sold to the children of the rich, adding that the poor should be treated equally with the rich without any discrimination.

“The children of the poor have the right to apply for the job alongside the so-called children of the rich,” he disclosed.

Mr Babandede recalled that in 1985, he got recruited into the service without knowing anybody or any top government official.

According to him, the NIS will make sure we restore the lost glory of the Service for the betterment of our future generation.

In his remark, Mr Idi Amin, the Chairman of Maiha Local Government Area, appreciated the federal government for establishing the base.

Mr Amin said that the local government got the support of both the Federal and the state government to organise a meeting with the border communities between Nigeria and Cameroon at which a significant security issue bordering, especially, on border banditry was discussed and the communities agreed to work together to end criminal activities in their respective communities.