…as private firms suck agency’s revenue
Alade Jones
The projection by Nigerian Immigration Service to generate N40 billion in the last financial year hit a brick wall as it could only muster about N35.73 billion locally and $27.26 million from its foreign missions.
According to the financial details obtained by New Telegraph, the agency, within the period, also incurred expenses in excess of N36 billion, being payments mostly made to service providers.
The breakdown also revealed a decrease of about 4.5 per cent compared with the over N50 billion in local and foreign currencies recorded the previous year.
The report noted: “On the flip side of gross revenue generated as analyzed above are the deductions in terms of payments of contractual obligations to Service Providers engaged in the performance of Immigration Activities through Private Public Partnership (PPP) arrangement. This also included payment of levies and taxes to the relevant government agencies that are done primarily from the local revenue generation. The total amount paid to stakeholders/service providers in 2017 amounts to N36,190,315,775.30.
“It is instructive to note that out of a total sum of ₦35,724,482,338.96, N27,362,711,091.16 was paid out to our various service providers on PPP, which represents a whopping 76.6 per cent, implying only 24.4 per cent of total revenue generated goes into government coffers. This is an indication that the sharing formula is neither in favour of the service nor the government.”
The principal beneficiaries in this regard include Iris smart Technologies, which got over N10 billion; Newworks Solutions Ltd, N1.22 billion; Nationa e-Government Strategies, N281.05 million; Greater Washington, N680.80 million; CONTEC (CERPAC/E-PASS), N14,77 billion; FMI (CERPAC/E-PASS), N205.12 million, and NIS (After Payment to IPTELCOM), N2.19 billion.
Others are NSPMC, N268.38 million; FIRS N1.12 billion; Sub-Treasurer, N5.33 billion; IPTELCOM, N82.41 billion.
According to the details, there was a slight decline in revenue generation in local and foreign earnings compared with 2016 when it recorded of ₦37.43 billion; $36.16 million, CH¥7.9 million, TZ Shilling 166.72 billion ETB 1.27 million and CFA14.20 million.
The decline was largely attributed to high exchange rate and scarcity of some immigration facilities in the year.
Specifically, bulk of the funds generated locally is from Passport, ECOWAS/AA, Non-Refundable Revenue for Operations, Address Verification, CERPAC Revenue, Extension of Visitors’ Pass and others.
On the foreign side, funds are usually pulled by the agency from Passport, pad directly into JP Morgan account, Carrier Liability/Visa on Arrival.
Giving details of other activities during the period, the Comptroller General, Muhammed Babandede, said the service undertook several projects and procurements of operational equipment and facilities in line with the Public Procurement Act, 2007.
“Also, with the approval of the Tenders Board, some contracts were awarded. There were some contracts that were rolled over from 2016 to 2017; some were completed and awaiting commissioning, others were commissioned during the year under review while the ongoing projects were rolled over to 2018.
“It is interesting to note that some of these projects rolled over to 2017 were earlier awarded by the ministry and the liabilities were transferred to the service.
“Also, in the wisdom of the present leadership of the service, all the projects were tailored towards the welfare of officers and men of the service for improved efficiency and productivity. These include command office complexes, barracks/flag houses for comptrollers of state commands, solar powered boreholes, fencing of landed properties, rehabilitation of hostels in our training institutions and renovation of structures nationwide.
He said a total of 275 projects were executed and completed in 2017, which is over a thousand per cent higher than 2016 record of only 19 projects.
“Nearly all the projects rolled over from 2016 to 2017 were completed (301) in the year under review with additional 57 contracts awarded while another 92 projects are currently on going,” he added.
He said pursuant to its ICT-driven approach to migration and border management, the NIS had, over the years, invested considerably in the procurement of modern hardware and software.
According to him, “The year 2017 was no different as it witnessed the introduction of new MIDAS, Contact Centre equipment, passport equipment at new locations, border patrol communication gadgets, upgrading of ICT infrastructure, installation of IP Phones and Intercoms, NIS e-documentation equipment, new satellite installations, etc.”
