The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Abdulrahman Dambazau

  • Senate summons AGF, others over e-passport deals

    The Senate AdHoc Committee on Alleged Misuse, Under Remittance, and other Fraudulent Activities in Collection, Remittance and Expenditure of Internally Generated Revenue by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) on Saturday summoned the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Ahmed Idris, the Minister of Interior, Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (retd) and four private companies to appear before it on April 6.

    Idris and others were invited to brief the lawmakers on their involvement in alleged e-passport deals.

    The Chairman of the committee, Senator Solomon Adeola, stated these in a statement issued by his Media Adviser, Chief Kayode Odunaro.

    Odunaro quoted Adeola as saying “the AGF, Mr. Ahmed Idris, and the four companies were invited to appear before it to brief the committee on the multi-billion-naira e-passport production.”

    Adeola said the invited persons would also explain their involvement in other immigration-related issues carried out by the companies on behalf of Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) in a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement.

    According to him, the companies are Contec Nigeria Limited, Greater Washington Nigeria Limited, Network Solution and Investment Limited and Iris Smart Technologies.

    The companies were said to be working on e-passport production, Expatriate Residence Permit and Alien Card and other immigration-related issues.

    NAN

  • Xenophobia: Five Nigerians attacked in S/Africa again

    The Nigeria Union in South Africa, on Tuesday said five Nigerians had been attacked in Polokwane, Limpopo Province of that country in renewed xenophobic attacks.

    Mr Collin Mgbo, Secretary of the Union in the Province, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on telephone from Polokwane that three of the five Nigerians attacked were in critical condition in the hospital.

    “I received a call that a Nigerian was attacked at Ivy Park in Polokwane on March 15. I got to the scene and saw that the Nigerian was almost dead, his house was looted and burnt”, he said.

    Mgbo said another Nigerian was also attacked in the same neighbourhood same day and that while he got to the scene, the mob left the wounded man and descended on him.

    “They left the wounded Nigerian and faced me. They destroyed my car and I managed to escape and ran to a police station”, he said.

    The secretary added that three Nigerians, including the owner of a mechanic’s garage, were attacked at Moledji, near Polokwane .

    “Their shops and houses were looted, vandalised and destroyed. The local chapter of the union has reported these attacks to the South African police, Nigerian mission and national secretariat of our union.

    “Our national secretariat is on top of the situation. As we speak, three Nigerians in the hospital are in critical condition and I do not know if they will survive because of the severity of the attack”, he said.

    Mgbo urged the Federal Government to persuade its South African counterpart to ensure the safety of Nigerians in their country.

    When contacted on phone, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Olusola Enikanolaye, said the ministry had not been briefed about the incident.

    He, however, promised to get back to NAN after inquiry from the Nigerian High Commission in South Africa.

    Similar, in February, property worth millions of dollars belonging to Nigerians, were destroyed.

    The Federal Government later sent a delegation led by Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffry Onyeama and his Interior counterpart, retired Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau to South Africa for discussion on curtailment of the attacks.

     

  • FG inaugurates ultra-modern passport office in Abuja

    The Minister of Interior, retired Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau, has inaugurated an ultra-modern Passport office complex at Gwagwalada for the FCT, Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) Command.

    The minister promised Nigerians ‎that similar passport offices would be inaugurated across the country in the nearest future.

    He said that the measure was to reduce the stress and inconveniences being faced by applicants who hitherto travelled to Abuja from their various locations for resolution of passport-related issues.

    “This inauguration is in‎ line with the decentralisation policy of passport offices by the Nigeria Immigration Service,” he said.

    Earlier, the‎ Comptroller-General of the NIS, Mr. Muhammad Babandede, had pledged to ensure improved training for passport officers to ensure better service delivery.

    He also warned them against corruption and exploitation of those applying for passports, insisting that those found culpable would face the full wrath of the law. ‎

    However, there have been cases of delays and exploitation of Nigerians seeking to get or renew their international passports from the various NIS offices.

     

  • Fed Govt declares Monday public holiday

    The Federal Government, (FG) has declared Monday, December 12 as public holiday to mark the Eid-El Maulud celebration.

    Minister of Interior, Lt Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd), who made the declaration on behalf of the Federal Government, enjoined all Muslim faithful and Nigerians in general to cooperate and join hands with President Muhammadu Buhari, as he works tirelessly to build a strong, united and peaceful Nation.

    According to a statement issued by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior, Alhaji Muhammadu Maccido, the minister urged all Nigerians to use the occasion to pray for peace across the nation, while calling on all to be patient and supportive of the present administration for the successful implementation of its laudable programmes.

     

  • We’ll reposition NIS to world standard – Dambazau

    We’ll reposition NIS to world standard – Dambazau

    The Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau, says the Federal Government is determined ‎to reposition the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) to enable it compete favourably with its global counterparts.

    Danbazau said this at the opening of 2016 Nigeria Immigration Service Retreat in Kano on Thursday.

    He said that modern migration was a major area of focus in reforming operations of the ministry and NIS‎ in view of associated socio-economic and security challenges.

    He urged the participants at the retreat to come up with a way to resolve the issue of passport, visa and border security in the country.

    The minister also advised them to concentrate on the three main focus of the Federal Government of economy, corruption and security.

    Earlier, Mr Muhammad Babandede, Comptroller-General of Nigeria Immigration Service, had assured that he would reposition the service for greater efficiency in line with international best practices.

    Babandede said that welfare and training of officers and men of the service would be pursued, stressing that the measure would go a long way in enhancing their performance.

    “Seamless service delivery can only be successfully implemented through a well-trained and motivated workforce,” he said.

    While promising to be more proactive in addressing issues that affect the NIS, he told the participants that ‎the retreat was aimed at better performance.

    Babandede assured Nigerians that the service would continue to strive to provide timely world-class services and enabling environment for its customers.

    According to News Agency of Nigeria {NAN}, Kano state governor, Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje, in his remarks commended the Federal Government for creating a platform to reposition the service.

    He urged the participants to use the forum to reposition the service for effective service delivery and to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

  • FG extends Eid-il-Fitr holiday to Thursday

    FG extends Eid-il-Fitr holiday to Thursday

    The Federal Government on Tuesday extended the Eid-il-Fitr holiday to Thursday.

    A statement issued by the Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau, in Abuja quoted the Sultan of Sokoto,  Sa’ad Abubakar III,  as saying  the Ramadan fast continues on Tuesday due to the “non-sighting of the moon” heralding the month of Shawwal in the Muslim calendar.

    Sultan Abubakar is the President General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs.

    Dambazau noted that the federal government has now declared Wednesday and Thursday  as public holiday.

    The government had earlier declared Tuesday and Wednesday as public holiday to mark the Eid-il- Fitr.

    The statement signed by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Bassey Akpanyung,  “In making the declaration on behalf of the Federal Government, the Honourable Minister of Interior, Lt Gen. Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau (rtd), urges Nigerians to use this period of sober reflections to ensure harmony, unity and peaceful co-existence, while giving full support to the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari in his sustained effort to pursue socio-economic and political growth of the nation.”