Federal government has said the biggest legacy of President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration from the Interior Ministry’s perspective is the ability to push insurgency out of the country.
Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, disclosed this yesterday in Abuja at the 4th edition of the PMB Administration Scorecards Series (2015-2023).
Aregbesola said no insurgent held sway in any part of the country, unlike before 2015 when some local governments in Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa State were under the effective control of terrorists.
He said the Civil Defence, Fire, Immigration and Prisons Services Board had digitised its operations in the promotion and recruitment of officers to eliminate sharp practices.
Aregbesola said, “Before this Administration leaves, we shall be producing international passports locally.
“International passport is the most secure identity document for any nation. It’s a sovereign document and there is nowhere you can get an international passport on demand.”
He also noted that response time to fire emergencies has improved from 30 minutes to 15 minutes.
“We have established outreach services in the FCT to encourage and teach people how to manage fire outbreaks,” he said.
He said the Ministry also had enough passport booklets in Nigeria and overseas to meet the needs of all applicants who have been captured.
“What the Federal Fire Service received from 2015 to date, budget-wise, is about five times what it got from 1901, when it was established, to 2014.
“We have migrated from machine-readable passports to electronic readable passports. We have taken a bold step to build 3,000 capacity custodian centres in six locations across the country. I don’t think anything like that exists in Africa. The one in Janguza in Kano State is 95 per cent completed. We will be taking the media on tour of the facility in January.”
He said his Ministry had also improved the movement of inmates to court by procuring many vehicles.
“We also have fantastic health care services in the custodial centres. In Kirikiri in Lagos, as well as in Kuje, there is a referral centre which can be compared to other referral centres.”
“Our correctional facility is one of the few in the world that did not record any COVID-19 infection, which goes to tell you the level of commitment and professionalism of our officers and the quality of our healthcare facilities.”
“We have a drug production facility in the Kuje Custodial Centre,” he added.
We’ve got the edge. Get real-time reports, breaking scoops, and exclusive angles delivered straight to your phone. Don’t settle for stale news. Join LEADERSHIP NEWS on WhatsApp for 24/7 updates →
Join Our WhatsApp Channel