Tinubu Decorates New Immigration Boss, Six DCGs With New Ranks

President Bola Tinubu has decorated the newly appointed Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Caroline Wuraola Adepoju, with her new rank.

Following the confirmation of her appointment, Adepoju became the 18th substantive Comptroller General of the NIS and the third female CG to be appointed, having served in an acting capacity since June 1, 2023.

Also decorated were the six newly appointed Deputy Comptrollers-General of the NIS, whose appointments were approved alongside the CG by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Monday, December 4.

The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who represented the President at a ceremony in Abuja on Wednesday, decorated the top echelon officers of the service with their new ranks.

Speaking at the ceremony, the minister charged them to see their elevation as a call for more work while reminding them of the enormous task ahead.

Tunji-Ojo asked the elevated officers to be more dedicated to their duties by always giving their best to move the Service to enviable heights.

He pledged to review the entire system to allow officers to get to the top of their careers early enough to be able to add value and contribute meaningfully to the development of the Service, saying he was not happy that some of those being decorated as DCGs were already at the end of their careers.

The minister said: “The NIS is a very important agency. I believe in building stronger institutions than in building men because men will go while institutions remain.

“I am happy for you that today you are decorated with your new ranks; I am also not too happy because some of you are getting decorated almost at the end of your careers.”

Tunji-Ojo said the Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board (CDCFIB), which he is the chairman, would review and rework the whole system to put the staff and workers of Immigration Service at the centre of what the Ministry is doing.

He said the work of the Immigration Service is critical to national security, noting that if the service is doing its job well, with borders properly manned, the military, Police and other agencies would have less work to do in securing the country.