NIS expresses worries over foreigners’ marriage to Nigerian spouses to evade $2,000 residency permit

The Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Muhammad Babandede, has expressed worries over the increase of marriages to Nigerian spouses, which according to him is largely to avoid the payment of the $2,000 Residence Permit.

This was contained in the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) 2020 Annual Report unveiled in Abuja. He disclosed that the sharp increase was recorded in December 2020 after several arrests and deportation orders had been signed by the Minister of Interior.

“This is a call for action since a fake marriage will continue to undermine revenue, take away jobs from Nigerians and pose a security challenge to the country.”

While thanking President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister of Interior, in particular; for the continuous support to the Service in all its Reforms, he also commended all officers and men of the Service for their hard work and commitment towards making the 2020 Annual Report a success.

Unveiling the report in Abuja, the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, called on stakeholders to support the Service to enable it to deliver on its statutory mandate.

The report which explains holistically the revenues and expenditures of the NIS for the year ended 2020, gives every Nigerian the opportunity to peruse what the Agency has achieved all through the year; what it generated and what it expended.

Represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dr. Shuaib Belgore, the minister reiterated the governments’ commitment to making the Nigeria Immigration Service a world-class Migration Management Agency which can compete favorably with any of its counterparts anywhere in the world so as to enable it to serve Nigerians and foreigners better.

He said that he was particularly pleased with the verifiable data and information related to Border Management, Travel Documents, Visa Administration, Residence Permits, Enforcement and Compliance as well as Financial Reports, saying they were proofs of the commitment of the NIS and indeed, the Ministry of Interior to complying with transparency and anti-corruption posture of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.

The Minister expressed optimism that the recent commissioning of the NIS technology building and the anticipated harmonisation of all databases on the operations and activities of the Service would enhance a seamless platform for sharing of information with relevant stakeholders as well as making future Annual Reports more robust and impeccable.

While thanking President Muhammadu Buhari for the successful implementation of several initiatives and programmes by the Nigeria Immigration Service and other agencies under the supervision of the Ministry, Aregbesola urged the Management of the NIS to circulate the 2020 Annual Report to all critical Stakeholders of the Service to sensitize them on the operations and activities during the year under review so as to give room for necessary dispassionate assessment of the Service which will expectedly provide a springboard for better performance in the years ahead.