By Abdullahi Alhassan, Kaduna
Kaduna State Government has Congratulated the Nigerian Immigration service over the celebration of its 60-year Diamond Jubilee, an anniversary held across the Nation.
Speaking at the celebration ceremony in Kaduna, the state Governor Senator Uba Sani, Said "Our presence here today attests to the fact that Nigeria Immigration Service, at 60 years, has come a long way and this milestone is quite worthy of celebration".
It is a diamond jubilee, he said
Represented by Mr, Fabian Okoye Special Adviser Research Documentation, and Strategy, Governor Sani explained that "These sixty years, have witnessed several transformational phases of the NIS.
"The Kaduna State Command of the Service has enjoyed a good working relationship with the state government and has continuously contributed in no small measure towards the maintenance of peace and security in the state.
According to him, Nigeria Immigration Service is the agency of government saddled with the responsibility of control of persons leaving or entering Nigeria."Although the Service is mostly known to Nigerians as the agency that issues passports and other travel documents, It is indeed the agency primarily responsible for border control and migration management in the nation.
"I want to reassure you that the Kaduna State government is committed to building on the existing cordial relationship with the Nigeria Immigration Service and is also willing to partner in more progressive ways to make the state not just a haven for everyone, but a prosperous economy for legitimate businesses to thrive.
Earlier in his welcome address the state Comptroller of the Immigration Services, of Kaduna State Command, Bashir Mohammed Lawal, drew the attention of the gathering to the history line.
He said the Nigeria immigration service was a baby-born child extracted from the Nigeria Police Department on 1st August 1963. Given the mandates, objectives and functions, control of Migrants, issuance of Visa and Resident permits, issuance of Travel documents, Registration of Migrants, and also Land, Air, and Sea Border patrol management.
Comptroller Mohammed Lawal noted that the service has undergone a series of operational reforms to reposition its service towards people-oriented effective, efficient, and professional service delivery according to global best practices.
"This celebration is designed to showcase various achievements of the service towards the protection of National identity, Border Management, as well as the effective implementation of Federal government policy on security Economy and Transparency to ensure economic development and National security.
Comptroller Bashir maintained that the immigration service was among the first Government organizations to successfully implement the federal government Executive Order Initiative (EOI)2017, subsequently, implementing the National Visa Policy 2020 with cardinal operational objectives of Ease of doing business in Nigeria, boosting tourism and improving the business environment.
He noted that Nigeria is an important destination county for Migrants which majority are from the ECOWAS community. Given this, as the Nation's gatekeeper, Nigeria's immigration service has made a remarkable achievement for its effective and efficient monitoring and control of migrants towards internal security challenges faced by the service on rising cross-border migration violations and transnational crime.
"The roles and responsibilities of Nigeria's immigration service towards National security, border management, and National identity cannot be overemphasized as the service will continue to use creative ideas and innovative approaches and also remain sensitive to the ever-changing social, economic, and political environment to address new global challenges.
Comptroller Mohammed Lawal noted that to build a stronger organization, Nigeria's immigration service has participated in numerous local and international training and manpower development programs for its workforce to conduct service effectively and efficiently by providing outcomes that are central to its mandate and making Nigeria an attractive hub for business and tourism.
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