The Concerned Nigeria Immigration Stakeholders, on Sunday, urged President Muhammadu Buhari not to extend the tenure of the acting Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Isa Idris.
They warned that such a move could spark internal disputes that may snowball into full-blown protests by the service’s personnel.
In an open letter to the and signed by the group’s spokesperson, Akinwale Dennis, the group claimed it was aware of ongoing moves by Idris to lobby for a tenure extension after his current term expires on Monday, April 24, 2023.
The letter is titled, ‘Dear President Muhammadu Buhari, please save Nigeria Immigration Service.’
Idris, who was Deputy Comptroller-General (Accounting), assumed duty as acting head of the service in September 2021 after the retirement of the former CGI, Muhammed Babandede.
The acting CGI was due for retirement when he turned 60 on April 24, 2022, under the civil service rules, until Buhari extended his tenure by one year.
In a letter dated April 22, 2022, and addressed to the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, the President’s Chief of Staff, Prof Ibrahim Gambari, announced that the tenure extension was with immediate effect.
Idris’ name was first on a list dated December 6, 2021, which contained the names of 804 immigration officers due to retire between January 1 and December 31, 2022.
With only days away from April 24, 2023, however, the CNIS is asking the President not to extend the CGI’s tenure any further, to allow for the promotion of other equally qualified officers.
It said, “Sir, permit us to draw your attention to the planned further extension of tenure of the current acting Comptroller-General of the NIS, Idris Isah Jere, who officially retired from the service on April 24, 2022, after acting for seven months following the retirement of Mohammed Babandede in September 2021.
“But after his retirement in April last year, he was asked to continue as CG in acting capacity for another one year which will elapse on April 24 this year. But more importantly, and of more concern to us is the plan by the acting CG to seek another extension in clear contravention of service rule.
“We are aware that the acting CG has been lobbying to ensure he gets another one year in office. We have proof of this, and the latest is a letter he wrote to all directorates of the NIS dated April 12.”
The letter was titled ‘Official Assignment.’
It read, “Be informed that I shall be away from April 13 – 25, 2023. During my absence, IAM Haliru (DCG, V/R) shall hold forth. All correspondences should therefore be directed to him. Please note accordingly.”
The CNIS noted that Idris’ date of return falls beyond the one-year extension he was given.
“The implication of this is obvious: the acting CG is already looking forward to another extension. Dear Mr. President, it will be a disservice to Nigeria and a tragedy for the NIS if Idris Jere succeeds in getting another extension when there is a pool of more competent officers to occupy the CG position.
“We are therefore appealing to Mr. President not to entertain any argument to extend the tenure of the acting CG as this may irreparably damage officers’ morale with the consequent effect on service delivery.
“We are even more concerned that aggrieved personnel of the NIS may embark on an embarrassing protest against further tenure elongation for the acting CG which may negatively affect the image of the service,” the group said.
