FG Commissions Comprehensive Healthcare Centre, Passport Front Desk Office In Osun, Oyo

Ismaeel Uthman

THE South-West has con nued to benefit from the reforms and interven on projects of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administra on on Nigeria Correc onal Service and Nigeria Immigra on Service.

Facilitated by the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, the SouthWest is a beneficiary of both physical and social infrastructure needed in driving the reforms in the two services.

On Tuesday, May 2, the Federal Government commissioned a 20-bed hospital, equipment and genera ng plant at the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Ilesa, State of Osun and a Passport Front Desk Office in Oyo, Oyo State.

The healthcare centre, according to Aregbesola, is part of the COVID-19 Interven on Fund given to Correc onal Service, explaining that each geopoli cal zone of the country benefits from the comprehensive healthcare project.

Aregbesola who commissioned the project, restated President Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment to reposi on, resuscita on, reforma on and rehabilita on of inmates in all the custodial centres of the country.

The former governor of the State of Osun maintained that inmates are en tled to their full dignity, decent meals, medical treatment and humane accommoda on, adding that their rights should be protected and enhanced.

He appealed to state governments to take advantage of the new cons tu on amendment to ac vate speedy judicial process to take care of offenders, as well as providing the requisite infrastructure for state inmates, who cons tute the majority of inhabitants of custodial centres na onwide.

Aregbesola said: “The reform President Muhammadu Buhari-led Administra on introduced to correc onal services was designed to change the concep on of the penal system from the puni ve prison system to a correcon system that reforms and integrates convicted offenders back into society as part of civilised humanity.

“Inmates are seen as humans created in the image of God but who have made bad choices leading to their incarcera on.

“Nevertheless, their full dignity and rights should be protected and enhanced. They are entled to decent meals, medical treatment and humane accommoda on, among others. The whole idea is to help them recover the best version of themselves and become who they were des ned to be, their past mistakes notwithstanding.

“But generally, the states must introduce judicial reforms that will make possible prompt dispensa on of jus ce and do away with long and o en indeterminate deten on which creates the deluge of awai ng trial inmates in the custodial centres.

“Many inmates have been in deten on for a period longer than the maximum sentence the offence they were alleged to have commi ed carries. This is miscarriage of jus ce and inexcusable. We cannot claim to be a just society when this happens to any of our ci zens.

“However, with our interven on, a regional mega facility with capacity for 3,000 inmates has been established in Ilesa. It is a village on its own, with courts and other infrastructure for a modern custodial centre.”

In his welcome address, the Controller General of Correc ons, Haliru Nababa, explained that the new set of infrastructure underpins the commitment of the President Muhammadu Buhari government in enhancing humane containment of persons in custody and reposi oning the correc onal service in line with standard global prac ce.

Nababa expressed gra tude to the President and the Minister for not sparing any effort in getng a be er deal for inmates across the country, through the birth of ideas that will further assist in engendering the success of the current reforms.

We Have Overcome The Challenges In Obtaining Nigerian Passport - Aregbesola

Speaking at the commissioning of the Passport Front Desk Office in Oyo, Aregbesola said the Federal Government strident efforts at overcoming the challenges Nigerians encounter in obtaining passport are yielding the desired results.

Aregbesola urged cizens to assist the reform process at the Nigeria Immigra on Service (NIS) by not patronising corrupt officials who are making the process difficult for them.

He said the Oyo Passport Front Office is part of the long term ini a ves to make the process of data capturing, produc on and collec on which are cri cal areas of the passport process easier, all in a bid to address the growing concerns of Nigerians.

According to the minister, the NIS has con nued to meet up despite the skyrocke ng demand for the ci zenship affirming document, while maintaining the highest standard and quality.

He said: “The demand for passport by Nigerians has skyrocketed in the past three years. Nigeria has a growing popula on. This means that in the past 30 years, more people are being born than are dying. More people have there-

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SHUTTI AHMED ALADE fore grown to the age they will need the passport to travel outside the country, for iden fica on and for other purposes.

That I was formerly known and addressed as SHUTTI AHMED ALADE, now wish to be known and addressed as SHUTTI AMIDU ALADE. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

“All these shot up demand, more than our produc on capacity. But thankfully, we have addressed the challenge successfully and cleared the arrears. We are now producing on the schedule of six weeks a er biometric data enrollment for fresh applica ons and three weeks for renewal.

“But we s ll have the challenge of the wai ng period between applicaon and biometric data capture. Depending on the loca on, some mes, the wai ng period can take up to two months. This is because there is a limit to the number of applicants that the exis ng passport offices can a end to in a day, making it impossible to a end quickly to all the applicants, and necessita ng the long wai ng period.

“In spite of the challenges we faced, last year (2022) alone, we produced 1.9 million passports, against the 1 million produced in 2021. This is about 80 per cent increase and it is unprecedented.

“The reform introduced to the NIS led to the Automated Passport issuance process which has eliminated touts and racketeers in Passport administra on, introduc on of E-border Management, MIDAS and the commencement of EPassport across Passport Control Offices and Diploma c Missions.”

Aregbesola also hinted that as part of the long term measures, the private sector will be engaged to provide lounges for a fee, with the equipment and personnel provided by the NIS to make the wai ng period a er applica on, more seamless.

“Ge ng the passport is a right of all Nigerians and for those outside the country, it is a necessity. The passport validates your person and existence and without it, you stand the risk of being classified as a stateless person outside the country.

“But our mandate is to provide the passport for all Nigerians desirous of it seamlessly, without any stress. This is the essence of the ci zenship integrity mandate President Muhammadu Buhari gave us – that any Nigerian interfacing with the government in any area must not encounter any difficulty, but rather do their business joyously”, he added.”

On his part, the Governor of Oyo State, Engr. Seyi Makinde, who was represented at the event by his Special Adviser on Migra on and Homeland Security, ACG Segun Adegoke (Rtd.), stated that the state government will con nue to support the Nigeria Immigra on Service in the State.

“We thank the Minister for collabora ng with Oyo people in establishing this passport office of the Nigeria Immigra on Service here to complement the one in Ibadan. It will in no small way help facilitate legal migra on of our people.

“However, we (Oyo State Government) call on the Minister and Nigerian Immigra on Service to make haste in the domes ca on and eventual issuance of the African Union Passports to Nigerians. This will help facilitate the legal migraon of our people to the 54 African countries visa free and in turn promote much needed remi ances vis-avis foreign direct investment from other African na ons,” the governor stated.

Speaking earlier, the Ac ng Comptroller General of Nigeria Immigra on Service, NIS, DCG Abdulmumuni Haliru, said the newly inaugurated passport front office would boost social and economic ac vi es in the town.

Abdulmumuni, therefore, called on officers to be of good conduct and always be professional while discharging their civic responsibility.

He further extolled the person and character of the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, sta ng that the Immigra on Service has never had it this good.

Political Scavengers Directing The Affairs...

the salary of that month was not paid to us ll now. Oyetola didn’t pay all the local government chairmen and councilors ll now. That man is just too wicked. There was a me he asked us to calculate all the impress we were owed; we only collected 13 months impress out of 36 months. When we submitted the claims to Oyetola, he asked us to remove the impress we were owed under Aregbesola’s administraon, he said he was not part of the government. Then I knew we were in big problem. Incidentally, a er fol- lowing his direc ve, Oyetola s ll had the quantum of impress to pay us.

I had a project in collabora on with CSDP on provision of electricity to some communi es in my local government. Oyetola frustrated the project.

What do you think is the solu on to the party crisis?

Members of the party can come together again. it is not that our party has lost its popularity. APC is s ll a party to beat, but it must be put in proper shape. Oyetola is who the people resent. People voted against Oyetola, not the APC, for his ac ons and inac ons. The people of the state are aware of everything he was doing to Aregbesola and other people. Decision to make Oyetola the governor of the state began at the Oranmiyan House, but that’s where he came to a ack us.

To get APC together again, the opportunists, poli cal hustlers, sycophants, and usurpers should be excused, not from the party but from leadership posi on. The leadership of the party is the problem. Poli cal scavengers are the one direc ng the affairs of our party in Osun. Those who do not know the genesis of the party are the one taking shot.