Sensitises Stakeholders On New Expatriate Administration, Reforms
The Federal Government, through the Ministry of Interior, has engaged with members of the Organised Private Sector of Nigeria (OPSN) on the new expatriate administration and other reforms, announcing that it would begin to arrest irregular immigrants in the country from August 1, this year.
Speaking at the programme held at the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) House, Lagos, on Friday, the Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, said there would be an immigration amnesty programme for the regularisation of due processes for three months, disclosing that the new administration system would take effect from May 1, 2025.
He said the move was geared at simplifying processes without compromising national security.
While warning that the ministry would hold employers responsible for violating the expatriate quota, he stressed that there would be no room for non-compliance.
“So, by August 1, there will be a strict clampdown on irregular immigrants, and we hope that people will take advantage of the three months to be able to regularise and subject themselves to established immigration protocols,” he said.
The minister also warned that the Federal Government would no longer tolerate a situation where some companies obstruct the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) from carrying out its legitimate duties.
“So, we have said we will be very hard on any company that avoids or prevents the Nigeria Immigration Service from carrying out its legal responsibility. We will not tolerate that going forward,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He said Nigeria needed to take a cursory look at people coming in and going out of the country.
According to him, the engagement was to further simplify and enhance the processes as well as get the alignment of the private sector to be part of the reforms.
He urged businesses to take advantage of the three-month amnesty period to align and regularise the processes set in place by the ministry to avoid consequences.
“I think one thing that all of us should be concerned about and not lose sight of is homeland security. I say this is the only country we have, and even if the Customs or Immigration has challenges manning the multi-faceted borders around the country, at least we should start from somewhere. I think the ministry has started from somewhere, and they are making steady progress, and it is our collective responsibility to continually support them so that they continue to achieve the milestones that we can get to that level,” he said.
In his remarks, the Director-General of NECA, Adewale Smatt-Oyerinde, commended the minister on the reforms.
He urged the ministry to commit to the ease of doing business from the perspective of application and approval of business permits as well as visa applications, among others
Guardian
