Jonathan Cancels Immigration Recruitment

Written by Isiaka Wakili

Offers automatic jobs to
injured applicants, 3 relations
of each victim
President Goodluck Jonathan
has directed the complete
cancellation of Saturday's
recruitment exercise of the
Nigerian Immigration Service
(NIS).
Information Minister Labaran
Maku disclosed this to State
House correspondents today
after the weekly Federal
Executive Council (FEC) meeting.

The minister said the council
devoted the meeting to express
grief over the death of applicants
who lost their lives to stampedes
during the exercise.

Maku said the council regretted
the incident and expressed
condolences to the families of
the victims and sympathised with
the injured.
He said the president announced
automatic employment for three
relations of each of the victims,
with one beneficiary to be a
female.

The minister added that
Jonathan also directed that
automatic employment be given
to all the applicants who
sustained injuries during the
exercise.

He said the president ordered a
fresh recruitment exercise into
the NIS.
The new exercise, whose date he
said would be announced later,
would be conducted by a
committee chaired by the
chairman of the Federal Civil
Service Commission. Other
Other members of the
committee, according to him, are
the Comptroller-General of NIS,
representatives of the Inspector-
General of Police, representatives
of the Commandant General of
the Nigerian Security and Civil
Defence Corps, representatives of
the Director General of the State
Security Service, representatives
of the Nigeria Prisons Service and
representatives of the Federal
Road Safety Corps.

Maku however parried questions
on why the Minister of Interior,
Abba Moro, was excluded from
the committee, whether the
government would refund the
N1,000 paid for registration by
each of the applicants and
whether the government
intended to set up a committee
to investigate the circumstances
that led to the applicants' death.

He said: "The Federal Executive
Council meeting today devoted
its entire proceedings to
condolences to the families of
young Nigerians that lost their
lives in last Saturday's tragic
Nigerian Immigration
recruitment exercise. The FEC
noted with grief and deep
regrets the tragic loss of young
Nigerians who died in different
centres across the country in the
ill-fated Nigerian recruitment
exercise. The FEC, in sending
condolences to the families of
the deceased and also in sending
special wishes to those who are
injured and still undergoing
treatment in hospitals in parts of
the country, expressed total
regrets that this tragedy took
place at all.

"Council members were full of
grief when the issue was
discussed at the FEC. We
expressed our condolences to
the president and vice president
and we indeed reassured
Nigerians that all of us who have
the privilege of serving this
country at this time, are feeling
the pains with the families of our
young ones who lost their lives.

We're parents and we know
what this means to those who
have had the opportunity to train
their children and are waiting for
the opportunity for these
children to now take their places
and help their families, only to
lose them under these very
difficult circumstances that took
place on Saturday. We reaffirmed
our commitment to ensuring that
this kind of tragedy doesn't
repeat itself in this country.

"The president also took certain
measures which he announced
to Federal Executive Council. The
first is that the Immigration
exercise has been completely
cancelled and he has directed
that a new exercise be
conducted by a special
committee under the
chairmanship of the chairman of
the Federal Civil Service
Commission to conduct the
recruitment exercise to fill the
vacancies of the Nigerian
Immigration Service. Other
members of the committee, as
announced by the president, are
the Comptroller-General of
Nigerian Immigration Service,
representatives of the Inspector
General of Police, Commandant-
General of the Nigeria Security
and Civil Defence
Corps, Comptroller-General
of Prisons Service, Director
General State Security Service
(SSS) and the Corps Marshal of
the Federal Road Safety
Commission (FRSC).

"This committee will proceed to
conduct the exercise to fill the
vacancies in the Nigerian
Immigration Service.
"The president also directed that
for the families of those who lost
their dear ones, three spaces be
provided for three young people
one of who will a wowan

Reference: Daily Trust