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The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has demanded that all Officers and Men of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) acquaint themselves with their expected roles and responsibilities and be guided by the expected principles and standards of behaviours in the discharge of their duties.
The Minister said this at the launch of the NIS Code of Conduct and Ethics Document and unveiling of Electronic Data Management Systems (EDMS) at the Service Headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday.
Aregbesola said that as gatekeepers of the nation, NIS cannot but regularly showcase the cherished virtues of integrity, courtesy, sound morality and uncommon transparency in its official conduct.
He noted that the essence of setting code of conduct and ethics for any organisation is to ensure that actions, dispositions and behaviours of the workforce conform significantly with the laid down rules of engagement. Stating that “the code of conduct and ethics for the NIS should constantly speak to the need to always display sound judgement in the face of ethical and/or operational dilemmas” and therefore, “encapsulate the unambiguous benchmarks upon which ethical behaviours, values and actions shall be weighed to ensuring compliance to the laid down processes and procedures”
While assuring of the Federal Government determination at addressing the challenges of passport administration and border management, which he referred to as ‘ethical challenges’ the Minister urged the NIS staff to always remember their integrated moral and civic obligations to the public and strive to be patriotic and exemplary in their official and private conducts at all times.
In another development, the Minister commended the NIS efforts at automating its processes and systems with the introduction of Electronic Data Management Systems (EDMS), noting that the system will ensure that “paperwork bureaucracy and unnecessary waste of man-hour in moving bulky files from one table to the other will be done away with”.
Aregbesola informed that the EDMS is following a list of digital transformations taking place at the NIS, and expects that speed for effective and efficient service delivery shall be highly improved while the skill sets of the workforce will be greatly upgraded.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Comptroller General of NIS, Muhammad Babandede, MFR, said the NIS Code of Conduct Document was developed in consultation with all relevant government established anti-corruption and related organisations, stating that training of staff will immediately commence to ensure proper integration and implementation of the document.
The dignitaries present at the events include the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Interior, Hon. Nazir Zango Daura, the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau, Prof. Mohammed Isah, the Chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, representatives from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the National Orientation Agency (NOA), development partners and other stakeholders.