The House of Representatives Committee on Legislative Compliance, on Thursday in Abuja, urged the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) to abide by the principles of Federal Character in its 2017 recruitment exercise.
Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Abiodun Olasupo (Oyo-APC), made the call when the committee met with the Director, Civil Defence, Fire, Immigration and Prisons Services Board (CDFIPB), Mr Sunday Ogu.
Olasupo said the call became necessary in view of the need to ensure equity in the exercise.
The lawmaker said that every section of the country should be given equal opportunity in the planned recruitment.
He added that the House was being proactive in its duty by seeking to know the board’s preparedness for the exercise.
“We are concerned about the unfortunate incident that occurred in 2014, resulting in the loss of lives and injuries.
“So we need to know how prepared the Immigration Service is for this exercise,’’ he said.
In his response, Ogu said that the board was fully prepared; having taken into consideration factors that led to the unfortunate incident in 2014.
He said that the forthcoming exercise was a continuation of the one conducted in 2014, where 888 applicants were absorbed into the NIS.
Ogu said the planned 2017 exercise would be conducted to fill 1,110 vacancies.
He, however, disclosed that the NIS was overwhelmed by the number of applications so far received.
According to him, for instance in Kogi, NIS has already received 54, 000 applications for about 10 vacancies.
“This is a reflection of the high rate of unemployment in the country.
“Though six weeks was the duration for the application, but the response so far is overwhelming and we are still getting applications on our portal.
“You can imagine what we have from other states that are more populated.
“Meanwhile the Federal Government is concerned about the situation and once the budget is signed, the board will embark on another recruitment exercise for the other services under the board,’’ Ogu said.(NAN)
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