House of Reps queries Nigeria Immigration Service over the contracting out of consular services

MEMBERS of Nigeria's House of Representatives have questioned the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) for engaging the services of private consultants to handle visa and passport issues at the nation’s missions abroad.

Under pressure to deliver consular services such as the issuance of passports and visas at home and overseas, the NIS has had to engage private contractors. Debating the matter yesterday, the House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts Committee, said it was unnecessary and counter-productive to the growth of economy of the country.

In a session with the acting comptroller-general of the NIS Idris Jere, who was represented by assistant comptroller general, budget, Olubusola Fashakin, the committee rejected the idea. Committee chairman Wole Oke, summoned the interior minister Rauf Aregbesola, the permanent secretary of the ministry, and  the acting comptroller-general to appear before it to address the issue.

Mr Jere said: “We visited your embassies and the auditor general raised some queries on some missions, so we visited South Africa and Atlanta, US. We discovered that Nigeria is losing serious money through your operations. You engaged consultants to manage your passports and visas platform.

“In our opinion, NIS personnel were trained to manage visa and passport matters. That is your core mandate, so on what basis are you now engaging consultants? So, what are you people doing in the offices.

‘’Your men are idle, roaming the streets, this is not acceptable to the Parliament, something has to be done to stop the economic wastage. I give you a scenario, in South Africa, out of a revenue of $213, a consultant took $90 and out of that $213, only $15  came to the Nigerian purse.

"That particular consultant is managing 14 countries and Nigeria is bleeding through this window and we would continue to borrow money to finance our budget and one person is sitting down in the corner of his room and making  $90 on each applicant. It would not continue."