Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), will soon commence the recruitment of 5, 000 officers, following government approval, NIS Public Relations Officer, (PRO), Ekpedeme Kings disclosed Thursday.
The 5, 000 vacancies, Kings said were: “approved under the past administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan for fresh recruitment in 2012, which is still pending.”
Speaking with our correspondent on the alleged recruitment scam in the NIS, the immigration spokesman said the service has not started any fresh recruitment.
He explained that the immigration only carried out over 200 replacements of officers that died in the North –East zone following the attacked by the Boko Haram sects, resignation and retirement of its personnel at the junior cadre within the last few years.
It would be recalled that there was a report in a National Daily (not The Nation) early this week with the caption: “NIS in fresh recruitment scam”.
The publication alleged that the NIS is in a fresh service.
It further alleged that the recruitment was done in December, 2015 while the new recruitment was done in December, 2015 while the new recruits have already been paid their January salaries.
Kings denied the development when asked.
His words: “We did replacement of over 200 officers. The fact is that Boko Haram has been rioted out of the North- East zone and now for the Army to carry out its operations in other areas it is common knowledge in the country that the para-military, are to continue to take over the areas that have been conquered.
“We should be able to maintain the peace in that area for developmental proposes. The Army will go on with the war, while the paramilitary gives support and also while government is reconstructing the area.
“Because we have not been able to recruit for the past five or six years, due to our failed recruitment exercises we have not been able to have the kind of man power that is needed to carry out this administrative occupation of the North-East zone.
“So that services approached government that so many officers have died in the North East zone, others have retied because they have completed their years of service or on account of age, others have been moved due to several reasons.
“The workforce we are putting to this places are not actually the middle cadre or the senior officers it is the inspectorate that is level 1-7. We have the senior officers that are already there.
“We pleaded with government to replace these people and government considered and government gave the approval. The number I do not know but it is over 200 and not 300.”
“The 5, 000 vacancies were approved under the past administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan for fresh recruitment in 2012, which is still pending.”
He said 80 percent of the 5, 000 officers that are going to be recruited soon will be deployed to the borders across the country after proper training.
