Nigeria’s Economy Recovering, Tinubu Laying Foundation For Future —Tunji-Ojo

Minister of Interior Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo has declared that Nigeria’s economy is recovering and undergoing unprecedented progress, attributing the development to President Bola Tinubu’s vision and commitment to building strong institutions that can sustain the country’s growth beyond the present administration.

Tunji-Ojo, who expressed confidence in Tinubu’s leadership through 2031, said the president’s investments in institutional reforms, technology, public service delivery and workers’ welfare was laying the foundation for a stronger Nigeria.

The minister spoke yesterday at the closing ceremony of a specialised training programme on border control and immigration management for 87 officers of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) at the service’s headquarters in Abuja.

He highlighted the challenges confronting his ministry when he assumed office, particularly gaps in expatriate records, fragmented government databases and the limited use of technology in managing the country’s internal security architecture.

Tunji-Ojo disclosed that official records at the time showed only about 40,000 expatriates working in Nigeria, a figure he said was inconsistent with the country’s population of more than 200 million.

“We got into a system whereby official records we had, maybe about 40,000 foreigners or whatever working in Nigeria. In a country of 200 million, that is not possible anywhere in the world,” he said.

The minister questioned how the government could effectively monitor foreign nationals and manage migration-related security concerns without reliable information about those residing in the country.

“When you do not have the data of those foreigners residing in your country, then how do you manage their affairs? How do you monitor them? How do you monitor someone that you don’t even know exists?” he asked.

He said the discovery underscored the urgent need to reform the ministry’s data management processes and move away from fragmented, analogue operations towards a coordinated, technology-driven system.

According to him, the government responded by introducing the Centralised Interior Management and Administration System (CMAS), designed to harmonise information across agencies under the Ministry of Interior, including the Nigeria Immigration Service, the Nigerian Correctional Service, the Federal Fire Service and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.

Tunji-Ojo said the integration of government databases would strengthen identity verification, improve the monitoring of foreign nationals and address security gaps caused by inconsistent or disconnected records.

“Harmonisation of data, strategic handshake of data-generating and processing agencies, is the only way to have a single point of truth,” he said.

He also disclosed that the government had addressed cases in which individuals possessed multiple identities, including different passports associated with the same person.

“We had people then, one person with two, three different passports. But today, that is history,” he said.

The minister attributed the country’s ongoing reforms to Tinubu’s long-term vision, arguing that meaningful national development required investments whose benefits would extend beyond the tenure of individual office holders.

He said Nigeria was making progress through institutional restructuring, digital transformation and efforts to improve the conditions of public servants, including personnel of the paramilitary services.

Tunji-Ojo cited improvements in recruitment, promotions, salary increments and allowances as examples of the administration’s response to the needs of security personnel.

He maintained that effective public institutions depended not only on technology but also on motivated personnel equipped with the necessary skills, resources and professional training to deliver results.

According to him, the government would continue investing in capacity development to ensure that officers could meet the demands of increasingly complex security operations.

The minister said personnel should be given the appropriate training and tools before being held accountable for their performance.

He stressed that sustained investment in human capital was necessary to ensure that the benefits of institutional reforms were not lost when political leadership changed.

Tunji-Ojo disclosed that the Ministry of Interior had developed a 10-year technology roadmap as part of efforts to modernise its operations and strengthen Nigeria’s technological capacity.

He also revealed that the ministry had established a data centre with a capacity exceeding eight petabytes, alongside an off-grid solar power facility to support its command and control centre.

The investments, he said, were intended to improve the reliability of government systems and ensure that critical operations could continue with reduced dependence on conventional power infrastructure.

The minister further insisted that technology providers working with the government must transfer the relevant technical knowledge and skills to Nigerian personnel.

“Any vendor that is not ready to transfer knowledge to you has no place in the Ministry of Interior,” he said.

He warned against allowing government institutions to become excessively dependent on external contractors, stressing that local personnel must be equipped to operate, maintain and improve the systems being deployed.

Tunji-Ojo said the ultimate objective was to build institutions capable of sustaining technological advancement and delivering improved services over the long term.
Tunji-Ojo said the broader investments reflected the government’s determination to build a modern public service capable of addressing Nigeria’s administrative and security challenges.

He maintained that the country’s long-term progress would depend on sustaining institutional reforms, developing local technical expertise and ensuring that investments in technology translated into measurable improvements in public service delivery

The minister’s remarks came as the Nigeria Immigration Service ( NIS) announced the consolidation of more than 15 million migration records into its Border Control and Immigration Management System (BCIMS).

The Comptroller-General of Immigration, Kemi Nanna Nandap, said the integration of BCIMS with the Migration Information and Data Analysis System (MIDAS) had brought previously fragmented migration information together to improve identity verification, border checks and security risk assessment.

Nandap, however, warned officers against abusing the technology or relying on automated alerts without proper verification.

“An alert is not a verdict. A risk indicator calls for careful, proportionate examination. It never replaces evidence, professional judgement, or respect for the rights of the travellers standing in front of you,” she said.

She urged the 87 officers who completed the specialised training to use the system accurately, lawfully and responsibly, stressing that effective border security required reliable data, professional judgement and respect for travellers’ rights.

The Comptroller-General said the success of the reforms would be measured by improvements in the accuracy of migration records, the consistency of border checks, the timely handling of alerts and the reliability of the technology.