The Controller-General (CG), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Mr Muhammed Babandede, has said the Service will implement Federal Government’s directive on travel ban for passengers who fail to carry out day-7 COVID-19 test.
Babandede stated this at the Presidential Task Force (PTF) briefing on COVID-19 on Tuesday in Abuja.
”It is clear to everybody that the future of travels is health.
”The next visa for global travel is health especially the COVID-19 certificate.
”I can assure you that you may not be able to cross Nigerian borders without the vaccine certificate or your COVID-19 test.
“Also, it is our duty to implement the directive of Mr President, the powers are enshrined in the Immigration Act, the Constitution and from the regulation for COVID-19.
“The powers are there to restrict the person that has refused to comply with any regulation.
“This is because lack of compliance to COVID-19 regulations is a threat to public health,” he said.
According to him, public health is a big issue in the country and so, based on that directive, we have complied by blocking 100 passports from traveling.
Badandede said this meant that even if they went to police and declared those passports missing, they would not be reissued anywhere in the world.
He said that they would not also cross our national borders until the period of six months or communication received from the right authorities stating that they had compiled.
”This will also include non-Nigerians; we have the powers to revoke visas, even the Controller-General has the power to revoke visas.
“So, based on the powers given and additional condition for entering Nigeria today, you must have COVID-19 test result, we will make you to comply.
”You must have evidence of payment. If you do the test it means you have complied.
“If you have not done the test it means you have violated the condition of entering the country; your visa will be revoked,” he said.
Badandede said that he wanted to assure Nigerians that immigration was implementing the directives.
He added that he had started receiving calls from those whose passports numbers were published.
He said he told them that there was no problem, adding that he told them also that he didn’t put their numbers there but that they violated the protocols.
Badandede said that he advised them to go back to the health sector and make sure they complied.
“You see Nigerians are wonderful, they refused to do the tests; but after over a month of returning to the country now they are calling to say they want to travel as their children are returning to school.
”Please comply; immigration has no business with anybody; we are implementing the directives handed down to us.”
TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that the Presidential Task Force (PTF) recently released and published passport numbers of 100 Nigerians who failed to carry out the day-7 COVID-19 test after they returned from their foreign trips. They were placed on a six-month travel ban.
Sequel to the outrage that erupted on social media after officials of the Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, stopped one of the promoters of the recent #EndSARS protests, Modupe Odele from travelling out of the country and subsequently seized her passport, the service has contacted Odele to come pick the passport.
Odele’s passport was seized six days ago at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos while travelling out of the country.
She had complained and wondered why her passport was seized without any explanation from the NIS.
The NIS had earlier denied that her passport was seized because of her involvement in #EndSARS campaign against police brutality.
According to NIS’ spokesman, Sunday James, her passport was seized as part of a routine border assignment.
“As an enforcement agency in charge of border management, if there is an order restricting anybody from entry into the country, we enforce it without any prejudice.
“This doesn’t have anything to do with EndSARS protest or an individual, it is a routine assignment.”
However, on Friday, Odele tweeted that NIS has asked her to come for the collection of her passport by 4.00pm on Friday (today).
She said she had told them that she would come to pick it up by Monday.
Odele stated that she asked for an earlier time, but was told that the passport would only be ready by 4.00pm.
“I’ve been told by Immigration that my passport is ready for collection from 4pm today. I’ve respectfully informed them I’ll be there on Monday to pick it up.
“Since today is Friday, I asked for an earlier time but was told it will only be ready from 4pm today Friday,” she tweeted.
I’ve been told by Immigration that my passport is ready for collection from 4pm today. I’ve respectfully informed them I’ll be there on Monday to pick it up. Since today is Friday, I asked for an earlier time but was told it will only be ready from 4pm today Friday.
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has told Modupe Odele, a supporter of the #EndSARS protest that her passport cannot be released.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Odele’s passport was seized from her on Sunday on her trip to celebrate her birthday in the Maldives.
The NIS deprived Odele from travelling out of the country after she was marked as being under investigation.
However, the corporate lawyer and community builder, popularly known by her @Mochievous Twitter, has said she is not aware of any charges against her.
Odele, who was invited back to an undisclosed NIS office on Tuesday, also stated that she is not aware of what she is being investigated for.
“I went to retrieve my passport today but was told this: “We cannot release your passport because you are still under investigation”.
*As of now, I’m not aware of any charges against me or what I am under investigation for,” she stated on Tuesday via Twitter.
Hello people, I went to retrieve my passport today but was told this: “We cannot release your passport because you are still under investigation”. As of now, I’m not aware of any charges against me or what I am under investigation for.
While the authorities have kept mum on the matter, Odele had said she would give an update when she has more information.
“We haven’t confirmed yet why I was stopped on Sunday or by whom. But I’ve been invited back in with my lawyers today.
*I’ll update when I have more information but please don’t spread false news. That is dangerous,” she tweeted.
Earlier, she had narrated in a newsletter how an immigration officer accustomed her at the airport on her way out of Nigeria.
“For my birthday, I had planned a trip to the Maldives. It was really for a break as the events of the last three weeks have exhausted my mind and body in a way I have never been exhausted in my life.
“I went to the airport, passed through immigration, and while I was putting my bags through the body and baggage scanner, the immigration officer who had previously cleared me, called me back. He told me he had orders from above to detain me.
“Okay, at this point I’m like excuse me, my flight is in an hour. On what grounds are you detaining me?” He didn’t respond. Instead, he goes to his computer where he typed in my name and something that looked like a ‘wanted poster’ popped up on the portal.
“He blocked my view so I couldn’t see most of it but I saw some of it. And it read something like – ‘This person is under investigation by XYZ Intelligence Agency. If seen, they should be apprehended on sight,” she wrote.
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) on Sunday deprived Modupe Odele, a promoter of the #EndSARS movement from travelling out of the country.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Odele, popularly known by her @Mochievous Twitter handle made this known on Tuesday.
“Hello everyone. Thank you so much. I’m fine and I’m safe. We haven’t confirmed yet why I was stopped on Sunday or by whom. But I’ve been invited back in with my lawyers today. I’ll update when I have more information but please don’t spread false news. That is dangerous,” Odele tweeted.
Hello everyone. Thank you so much. I’m fine and I’m safe. We haven’t confirmed yet why I was stopped on Sunday or by whom. But I’ve been invited back in with my lawyers today. I’ll update when I have more information but please don’t spread false news. That is dangerous 🙏🏽
Earlier, the corporate lawyer and community builder had narrated in a newsletter how an immigration officer accustomed her at the airport.
She wrote, “For my birthday, I had planned a trip to the Maldives. It was really for a break as the events of the last three weeks have exhausted my mind and body in a way I have never been exhausted in my life.
“I went to the airport, passed through immigration, and while I was putting my bags through the body and baggage scanner, the immigration officer who had previously cleared me, called me back. He told me he had orders from above to detain me.
“Okay, at this point I’m like excuse me, my flight is in an hour. On what grounds are you detaining me?” He didn’t respond. Instead, he goes to his computer where he typed in my name and something that looked like a ‘wanted poster’ popped up on the portal.
“He blocked my view so I couldn’t see most of it but I saw some of it. And it read something like – ‘This person is under investigation by XYZ Intelligence Agency. If seen, they should be apprehended on sight”.
Meanwhile, at the time of filing this report, the NIS was yet to release an official statement on why Odele was deprived from travelling out of the country.
Operatives of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Ikeja, Lagos has refused departure of 58 medical doctors from the country.
The Spokesman of the service, Mr Sunday James, who disclosed this in a statement on Friday in Abuja, noted that the doctors attempted travelling aboard a UK bound aircraft flight number ENT 550 with registration number SP-ES that flew in from London.
According to him, 56 of the doctors had no visa for entry to the United Kingdom, while only two (2) had visa.
“The 58 Medical Doctors were refused departure in line with Section 31 subsection 2a and b, of Act 2015. This means, on powers conferred on the Comptroller General, NIS, Mr Muhammad Babandede, to prohibit departure of any person under the conditions stated in the Act.
“The chartered flight approved for landing in Nigeria was to carry 42 medical doctors for a training program but they were 58 with only two having visa for entry into the UK. A situation that calls for refusal of departure,” he said.
James said that NIS as the agency saddled with control of entry and departure from Nigeria of persons would not allow individuals or groups of well-educated Nigerians to disobey the laws.
He added that those who should know the procedures for travelling out of their country and the requirements, which include having a valid visa for entry into a destination country to leave, should not violate the laws.
“This is to avoid refusal of entry and repatriation back to Nigeria amidst COVID-19 pandemic. And also spreading of same as well as flouting the Federal Government’s directive on restriction of international flights unless for essential reason as approved by government.
“There is no official communication to the Service from the Ministry of Health in Nigeria or any known Medical body notifying the NIS of the travel of this number of medical doctors. The aircraft has departed for London without the medical doctors.
“The Comptroller General is taking this opportunity to advise Nigerians to always adhere to travel protocols. They should ensure they have valid passports with valid visa to the country they intended travelling to before going to any Airport, Seaport or Land Border Control to avoid refusal to depart,” he added.
Muhammad Babandede, Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has directed that the earlier ‘graveyard’ postings of some female personnel in viral video be put on hold.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Babandede made this known in a statement on Friday, revealing that an investigation had since commenced on the matter involving the female personnel.
Recall that the leaked documents have revealed the female immigration officers in the #DontRushChallenge video were punished with ‘graveyard’ postings.
The female personnel of the NIS, five of them, were written up for misconduct after appearing in the video that went viral.
The officers were posted from their places of assignment in Abuja, Lagos and Enugu and given “graveyard” assignments as far afield as Borno, Kano and Yobe.
It will also be recalled that following their appearance in the viral #DontRushChallenge video, Priscilla Irabor, Catherine J. Bakura, Blessing Alfred Udida, Binti I. Attabor and Ockiya Eneni were the subject of a disciplinary memo dated April 15, 2020.
The memo, which found its way into the public space sparked vocal condemnation and protests from civil society organisations, human rights lawyers and the general public.
Pop artist “Falz The Bahd Guy” whose song was used in the video even offered his help to the female officers, raising hopes that they would not be victimised for what many saw as harmless fun that merely portrayed the NIS in a human light.
These hopes were when a leaked official NIS memo showed that the five officers had been handed punitive and discriminatory postings.
The leaked memo confirmed that Priscilla Irabor was transferred from the Lagos State Command to the Nigeria Immigration Training School, Kano (ITSK), while Binti Attabor was posted from the service headquarters in Abuja to the Yobe State Command.
Catherine Bakura was moved from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja to the Nigeria Immigration Training School Ahoada, Rivers State, while Blessing Alfred Udida was moved from the FCT Command to the Akwa Ibom State Command. Finally, Ockiya Eneni was transferred from the CERPAC (Combined Expatriate Residence Permit and Aliens Card) Production facility to the Borno State Command.
The leaked memo had also outlined a secondary punitive measure, which is that the relocation will be done at the personal expense of the officers involved, and they were given just 7 days to report at their new places of assignment.
According to the statement announcing the suspension of the ‘graveyard’ postings, the matter involving the five female officers is still being investigated, and not concluded yet.
The statement reads: “The attention of the Comptroller General Muhammad Babandede MFR has been drawn to some trending matters on some social media platforms regarding the deployment of some of our Personnel to some Formations across the country.
“It is important to note that staff deployment remains a vital practice of regimented organizations such as ours and should be seen as such. As an agency, we maintain zero tolerance to any matters bordering on offences against discipline among members of our workforce irrespective of gender.
“We have high premium for staff development and indeed encourage personal efforts but that must be within the confines of our rules and regulations.
“The matter involving the Personnel in question is still being investigated and therefore,the Comptroller General has directed that the earlier Posting Order be put on hold pending the conclusion of the investigation”.
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) revenue generation increased by 60 percent year-on-year to N62.6 billion in 2019, according to latest figures published by the Federal Ministry of Interior.
The figure was disclosed by the Minister of Interior, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, while presenting the 2019 Annual Report of the Nigeria Immigration Service in Abuja on Tuesday, May 6.
The annual report is a document containing vital data and information which Nigeria consults for national planning, decision making, research work, education and business development for both the public and private sectors.
In a statement signed and released by the public relations officer (PRO) of the service, Mr Sunday James, on Wednesday, the agency said N59.7 billion of the 2019 turnover was used as expenditure and this brought the net revenue to N2.9 billion.
The agency also recorded a 13 percent increase in offshore revenue which amounted to $41.8 million compared with $36.4 million that was published in full year 2019.
According to the statement, the migration statistics for 2019 showed that China ranked the highest in immigrants into the country.
Following the Asian country among the top 10 countries with the highest number of migrations into Nigeria were India, Ghana, Lebanon, and the United States of America (USA). Other countries were Niger, Germany, Italy, South Africa, and Cameroon in that order.
The number of migrants into Nigeria on 2019 were 5,019,970 of which 7,518 persons came through the seaports, 1,379,459 persons through land borders, and 3,632,993 arrived through the airports.
The statement also disclosed that the total number of visas issued in 2019 was pegged at 130, while the total number of passports issued is 1,198,274.
According to the NIS report, the movement of persons into and out of Nigeria are as follows; 2,206,558 arrivals and 2,537,966 departures respectively.
By John Chuks Azu, Destiny Obiakoeze and Ediri Oyibo
More doctors are likely to leave Nigeria as Coronavirus (COVID-19) gets worse in the United States of America (USA). This would be in addition to an estimated 9million Nigerians who left the country between 2014 and 2018.
As the COVID-19 pandemic takes its toll across the globe, health officials in the US had warned that the country’s coronavirus death toll could rise above 100,000 people. As a result of this development, instead of shutting its door against migrants as it did previously, America is luring foreign medical professionals seeking to work in their country.
Following reports in March that US was inviting medical professionals from other parts of the world, including Nigeria, to help in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic, which has claimed thousands of lives in that country, the president of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Dr Francis Faduyile, said people had the right to work anywhere they chose. He, however, called on the government to strengthen the country’s health system to encourage more medical practitioners to stay behind.
This is even as inquiries at the US Embassy showed that only doctors and nurses who are already processing exchange and visitor programmes in the US are encouraged to seek the visa approval now. But potentially, this could impact negatively on the Nigerian health sector, as in the last five years, many doctors, among millions of other Nigerians, have left the country for greener pastures.
Already, the US health system relies heavily on immigrants, who make up 17 per cent of all health care workers and more than one in four doctors, according to a report.
Dr Joe Uba, a medical doctor with the Abia State Government, said he was looking forward to relocating from the country like many of his colleagues.
He identified Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom (UK) as the preferred destinations for his colleagues.
However, with the growing interest of the US on foreign medical professionals, priorities will begin to change for Nigerian doctors, who are yearning to leave for greener pastures.
“I think every doctor would like to leave if given the opportunity. It is the cost of moving that is the problem. You could spend not less than N2.5 million to process it. But they pay very well, especially in Saudi Arabia,” Dr Uba said.
Also, Joseph Simon (not real name), an Abuja-based lawyer, has just returned from the UK, where he registered for an LL.M programme. He hopes to stay back there after studies.
“My short visit to London was to understand the procedure to relocate. I can only return to Nigeria if things improve. The best way is through the master’s programme,” he said, citing UK’s new policy which allows postgraduates to stay up to two years after graduation in search of jobs.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that 1,361,580 individuals left the country in 2014. In 2015, 2,640,508 also left.
In 2016, the figure of emigrants dropped to 1,181,211, but rose marginally to 1,344,318 in 2017 and increased to 2,322,585 in 2018. (Kindly use landscape mode to get a better view of all infographics if you are using a mobile device).
While the number of departures recorded for the country between 2014 and 2018 may not be permanent, the figure is higher than the numbers between 2005 and 2010, which remained between 900,000 and 100,000 migrants.
Data analysis of Nigerians leaving for greener pastures showed that people leaving the country are not restricted to skilled individuals. Even the unskilled are leaving the country in droves from both regular and irregular means.
Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos, Nigeria, uses thermal imaging to screen passengers for coronavirus on on January 27, 2019. It’s not clear whether such screening methods will be able to stop the spread of coronavirus in the United States, but experts say it may slow down the virus a bit. Photo: AFP via Getty Images
For instance, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) reported that about 2,894 persons were rescued from irregular migrations between 2014 and 2018. Of this figure, 330 cases were reported in 2014; 285 in 2015; 320 in 2016; 1104 in 2017; and 855 in 2018.
These were persons who were involved in sexual exploitation outside Nigeria, external prostitution, forced labour outside Nigeria, armed conflict, illegal immigration and smuggling.
According to the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), about 4,364,668 Nigerians were issued with new passports between 2014 and 2018. But besides being a national identification and travel data, this indicates travel source states or regular departure points of most Nigerians.
A breakdown of passports issued between 2014 and 2018 showed that the South-West has the highest number, at 650,958 new passports issued. Lagos has the highest number (1,264,528), followed by Oyo (233,004), Ogun (166,920), Osun (109,016), Ondo (91,161) and Ekiti (50,857).
The South-South came second, with Edo topping at 172,435 new passports. About 158,304 received their passports from Delta, while 157,177 received in Rivers, followed by Akwa Ibom (41,042), Bayelsa (38,100) and Cross River (26,806).
The North-West came third with 484,766. Kano received 169,941 within the period while Kaduna got 110,856; Katsina, 68,132; Jigawa, 40,793; Sokoto, 36,932; Kebbi, 29,735 and Zamfara, 28,377.
In the South-East, Enugu and Imo received the fourth highest number of new passports issued, at 440,228. While Imo had 126,049, Enugu was second with 99,416. Others are Anambra (97,579), Abia (95,236) and Ebonyi (22,008).
In the North-Central, 320,024 new passports were issued. Out of this number, Plateau had 109,016 while Niger had 77,354. Others are Kwara (71,565), Kogi (28,766), Benue (17,890) and Nasarawa (15,433).
Also, 511,059 new passports were issued in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
In the same period, the North-East had 137,332 new passports. Borno recorded the highest number with 29,977, followed by Gombe (26,965). Others are Adamawa (26,157), Bauchi (25,026) and Taraba (15,852).
Major destinations for Nigerians
Reports show that countries such as USA, UK, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Cameroun, Italy, Cote d’Ivoire, Benin Republic, Australia, UAE and Canada are top destinations for skilled Nigerians, while some European and Asian countries are top destinations for Nigerians without much skills.
The Canadian government estimates that Nigeria ranks third in the countries that have received the highest number of Canadian Express Entry in 2018 under the ITA scheme, which is usually offered to software engineers and developers, behind China and India in second and first respectively. While 6,025 Nigerians received the offer, 6,248 Chinese and 41,675 India received it the same year respectively.
Canada welcomed 341,000 immigrants in 2019 under its skilled labour programme; about 10,000 of them are Nigerians. It is a steady increase as only 2,000 Nigerians were received in 2015; 4,000 in 2016; 6,000 in 2017; 8,000 in 2018 and 10,000 in 2019.
With the US visa ban on Nigeria in place, more Nigerians are expected to head north in the coming years. However, with the recent US demand for foreign medical professionals, Nigerian doctors and nurses may likely use the window of opportunity. Canada is projected to welcome 700,000 immigrants as permanent residents before the end of this year, which makes it an attractive destination for Nigerians of all categories.
The National Diaspora Commission estimates that between 5 million and 15 million Nigerians now live abroad. And some of the best brains go to these countries.
Presidency earlier raises alarm over refusal of Reps to be screened at Airports
Although there are concerns of loss of skilled workers in critical sectors of Nigeria’s economy, the NBS figures showed that as Nigerians left the country in droves within the last five years, remittances from the Diaspora has risen steadily to $25.08bn in 2019, up from $3bn in 2013.
Leaving for greener pastures
The serious economic hardship in the country has been pointed out as the major reason for the departures. Specifically, migrations are spiked by the high unemployment rate, which the NBS put at 23.13 per cent in quarter three of 2018, with a steady increase from 12.5 per cent in 2014.
Other factors include insecurity and poor infrastructure to support decent living, over taxation, high poverty rate, population explosion, climate change and environmental degradation, corruption, low access to credit, absence of meritocracy in public appointments, poor public health system, poor remuneration for workers, and among others.
Similarly, the World Data Lab, in its latest update, found that of the 201,623,008 total population of Nigeria, 95,903,776 people, representing 48 per cent of the population live in extreme poverty, which is defined to mean that they earn less than $2 a day.
Chilaka Anthony, a travel agent and frequent traveller, identified the economic situation in the country as the major reason more Nigerians are leaving the country. He disclosed that the situation is so critical that parents who fund their children’s studies overseas in international universities encourage them to find a way to stay back in those countries.
“The economic situation in the country has deteriorated, to the extent that we don’t know what to say. Many that pretend to be travelling for studies are actually intending to leave the country for good,” he said.
Also, Hillary Anosike, who has a business centre at the Chinese Visa Centre, said a lot of Nigerians travelled to China to buy cheaper goods and return to sell because of the high manufacturing rate in that country. He believes that the goods from China, which are cheap and competitive, are helping to sustain livelihoods for Nigerians who run small shops.
Writing on how climate change has affected migration, Ochiaka Ugwu, a journalist, stated that many people who engaged in agriculture in Nigeria had been forced to leave due to desertification, receding rivers, streams and lakes.
“Look at the herders-farmers clashes. Because streams and grasses are drying and pastures are disappearing, they are moving to locations where lands are greener, and in the process, they clash with farmers,” he stated.
But as more Nigerians leave the country, other nationals find it attractive. Nigeria is becoming a major economic host country for some intraregional migrants within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) with low skills. This has been projected to increase, given the recent Federal Government’s new visa-on-arrival policy, which was recently suspended as a result of the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic.
Nigeria’s loss, others’ gain
At the launch of the Nigeria Health Workforce Country Profile, 2018 and handover of the Nigeria Health Workforce Registry by the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other partners, Human Resources for Health, Ministry of Health, Shakuri Kadiri, said Nigeria had only one doctor to 2,753 patients. He put the number of medical doctors registered with the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria at 74,543; implying that there are 36.3 medical doctors per 100,000 population.
Of these registered medical practitioners in Nigeria, many have left the country due to the unconducive environment for practice. And the situation is expected to worsen with the recent US enticement.
A 2019 survey showed that about 2,000 Nigerian doctors leave annually. This has caused substandard medical care for Nigerian patients. The growing medical tourism by Nigerians, with a huge impact on foreign exchange, has been directly attributed to this.
The spokesman of the NIS, James Sunday, a Deputy Comptroller of Immigration, said travellers provided different reasons for their trips, but in some cases, as humans, what they gave as reasons may not actually be the reason for the travel.
He added that the responsibility of the NIS is just to capture individuals’ data and cross-check if there are criminal objections to their trips. He explained that once such criteria are met, they are allowed to go, as it would be against their fundamental rights to do otherwise.
“If you fall within the eligibility category for immigration, we allow you to travel,” he said.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) rates Nigeria as one of the largest origins of international migrants.
“Nigeria has continued to experience high internal and external migration due to its population, economic climate and porous borders,” IOM stated on its website.
On the way forward, a professor of Political Science in the University of Abuja, Yusuf Ali Zoaka, said the solution for the perennial issue of Nigerians leaving the country for greener pastures was to develop the country and put in place, “necessary facilities” that would keep Nigerians in their country. He said government should develop the country by creating the necessary facilities.
Also, the director, Centre for China Studies, Charles Onunaiju, said necessary incentives and creating the enabling environment for creativity, research and professionalism in Nigeria would encourage more professionals and other citizens to stay back and even attract the best brains outside the country.
“It is important for the government to entrench a system where merit, rather than where a person comes from, determines their position,” Onunaiju said.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, said government had started working to obtain accurate data on the existing health workforce in the country to facilitate human resource for health planning, and thereby deliver efficient, effective and high quality health services to citizens.
He stated this at the launch of the Nigeria Health Workforce Country Profile 2018 and handover of the Nigeria Health Workforce Registry by his ministry.
This report was supported by Code for Africa, via its Academy Hacks/Hackers Community Initiative
The Comptroller General of Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Muhammad Babandede, has tested positive for Coronavirus (COVID-19).
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports DCI Sunday James, NIS Public Relations Officer, made this known in a statement on Sunday.
The statement reads: “The Comptroller General of Nigeria Immigration Service Muhammad Babandede MFR health status with regard to Corona Virus and his self isolation since he returned from UK.
“As a top official of government he has adhered to the NCDC instructions to self isolate and undergo test.
“The result of the test came out positive, hence the need to make it public, he convey his goodwill to all and he is in stable condition responding to treatment.
“The Comptroller General is active and directing as expected the affairs of the service online, while the Deputy Comptroller General Overseeing the administration of the service is in touch online to keep service activities running within this period.
“The Nigeria Immigration Service community will continue to deliver on its mandate for the nation even in this trying times as we pray the whole world get over it, Nigeria inclusive”.
The Operatives of Nigeria Immigration Service, Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Command in Lagos, has apprehended another nine girls being trafficked.
The girls were on their way to Lebanon, Cairo, Dubai, and India on Ethiopian, Peace, Egypt and East Airlines.
The service Public Relations Officer, DCI Sunday James, made this known in a statement on Saturday in Lagos.
According to him, four of the girls claim to be traveling for employment without knowing their employers nor aware of the nature of the job they were going for.
“This discovery was made after intensive interrogation by NIS officials,” he said.
James said the shady journey was organised by agents who took advantage of the girls’ innocence and ignorance.
He disclosed that two of the girls had earlier claimed to be going for a visit.
“However, the two, later confessed they were going for hustle in Dubai. Another three, of the girls, claimed they were going to India for medical treatment without referrals.
“When further asked the nature of sickness, they said yellow fever before they finally confessed to going for hustle in India,” he said.
He said NIS refused their departure to save them from indignity to be faced from such journeys.
“The Comptroller-General of NIS, Mr Muhammad Babandede, therefore, called on parents to be wary of juicy offers on their children, from family and non-family members to take the children abroad.
“Most of these trips are deceitful, camouflaged with employment, studies or visit which may end up in exploitation or death. Operatives at the various entry and exit points will never permit them departure.
“The NIS stepped-up clearance operation that is yielding positive result in the various arrest made at the borders of the country by NIS.”
