By Bronson Jayamanna
NIGERIA (CWBN)_ Last Tuesday the Federal Government of Nigeria announced that preparations were being made for aptitude tests to be conducted for over one million candidates for the currently vacant positions in the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
The programs had been put on brief hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while the preparations were in progress for the conducting of aptitude tests with the facilities of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB). The government further said that recruitment programs for both agencies had been provisioned for in the 2020 budget and therefore could not be set aside or terminated.
During an interactive meeting with members of the House of Representatives Committee on Interior, Interior Minister Rauf Aregbesola went on to state that the enlisting process would be completed before the end of the year. He acknowledged that due to the outbreak of the pandemic the agencies could not assemble one million candidates at a particular venue.
The minster went on to inform the committee that the interior ministry required resources to maintain internal security and the integrity of citizenship and further added that the NIS, the NSCDC were involved in preserving internal security during #EndSARS protests. He also stated that there were some personnel from the aforementioned agencies who were also dealing with forms of insurgency and banditry in other parts of the country.
Dr. Shuaib Belgore, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, who represented Minister Rauf Aregbesola, clarified that some of the differences observed in the budget figures and the released funds were due to the ministry’s debt payments. He continued to declare that both the 2019 and 2020 budgets had achieved more than 95% of the results and assured the committee that the Ministry will continue to work with the National Assembly for the benefit of the country.
Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Interior, Emmanuel Ukpon Udion, said that the visit was in accordance with the Committee’s over-sight functions to ensure that budgetary funds were appropriately used in ministries and their agencies.
Edited by Elishya Perera
