Nigerian Immigration Service has generated N438.78bn as revenue from 2017 to date, finds the punch have shown.
This came as the total amount of revenue generated internally by the agency nearly doubled from N38.53bn in 2017 to N74.69 (budgeted IGR) in 2022.
In 2017, 2018, and 2019, the NIS collected N38.5bn, N39bn, and N61bn, respectively.
However, the IGR of the service suffered a 19 per cent drop to N49.9bn in 2020 largely due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In 2021, the revenue increased by around 44% to 71.7 billion naira. Its proposed revenue for fiscal year 2022 stands at N74.6bn.
The agency generated the sum of $230.63 million (N103.01 billion) of overseas revenue between 2017 and 2022.
A breakdown showed that $31.6 million, $36.91 million, and $41.8 million were generated in 2017, 2018, and 2019, respectively.
In 2020, 2021 and 2022, the service generated $20.07 million, N40.33 million and $39.90 million respectively.
Meanwhile, the budget allocation for the immigration service increased by at least 2023 percent in the fiscal years of 2018 to 2023.
Speaking to our correspondent, South Kaduna Peoples Union global spokesperson Luka Biniyat said the increased revenue from passport issuance may not be unconnected with the increasing rate of relocation of Nigerians to other parts of the world. in search of greener pastures.
He cited an earlier PUNCH report that revealed that the number of passports issued by the NIS increased from 767,164 to 1,059,607 between 2020 and 2021. That’s about 2,081 and 2,853 passports issued every 24 hours in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
“This is related to the fact that Nigerians are in such a hurry to run out of this country. Let’s say in Kaduna state 200 passports are issued and then there are about 5000 people applying for 200 passports.
At the time of filing this report, the NIS spokesperson was not reachable as calls made to his mobile line were not answered.
However, in its seven-year scorecard for the Buhari regime, the Presidency had argued that the FG was working to reposition the NIS to meet global standards and adhere to global best practices.
Citing border security efforts, the report issued by the president’s spokesperson, Femi Adesina, said: “The Nigerian Immigration Service is implementing a Migration Information and Data Analysis System at five international airports. MIDAS is a real-time global border management system developed by the International Organization for Migration and is linked to INTERPOL and other watch lists.
“The implementation of MIDAS at Abuja International Airport was described by the IOM as “the largest implementation of MIDAS at any airport globally, to date”.
