Authorities of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) in Bayelsa State have met with leaders of migrant communities in the state, warning them against illegal possession of voter’s cards ahead of the 2023 general elections.
The NIS Bayelsa Command led by Comptroller Sunday James, during the meeting with leaders of Nigerien, Beninois, Togolese, Ghanian and Malian communities in the state, warned against possession of valid voter’s cards and involvement in acts capable of disrupting the country’s general elections.
LEADERSHIP Sunday gathered that the meeting, which was convened by the state command of the NIS, was triggered by the directive of the Comptroller General of the Nigerian Immigration Service, Isah Jere Idris, to all comptrollers of the NIS state commands and special formations at a meeting held at the NIS headquarters, Abuja.
Idris had ordered the commands to increase surveillance and spot checks on non-Nigerians in preparation for the 2023 elections, warning that non-citizens should not be allowed to vote or voted for.
He also ordered that non-Nigerians are not to be found in possession of voter’s cards or other election-related materials to safeguard the integrity and sovereignty of the nation.
According to a statement from the command’s public relations officer, Superintendent Ebi Cookey, apart from the upscaled proactive surveillance, spot checks and apprehension of already identified irregular migrants in the state at identified flashpoints and locations where they are being harboured as security guards, cobblers, tailors, peddlers of water in trolleys and keke riders in Yenagoa and its environs.
“All the Divisional Immigration Officers (DIOs) have been further directed to engage in surveillance and intelligence gathering and to report back to the command’s comptroller with credible intelligence on the activities of non-Nigerians in the eight local councils of Bayelsa apart the state capital, Yenagoa.
“In an effort to maximise the impact of the Comptroller General’s directive to deliver on the service mandate, as the lead agency in border Management and Control in Nigeria, strategies to be adopted will be unveiled in our operations on continuous basis from now on as we move towards the 2023 elections and beyond.”
