Senators invite immigration, officials, firms over withheld funds

Senate committee on immigration chaired by senator Solomon Adeolaon has invited the attorney general, accountant general, minister of interior and four companies to appear before it to answer questions over allegations that revenues due to the federal government were being withheld from the immigration service by companies contracted to perform some functions on behalf of the service.
The companies performed services for the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) in public-private partnerships arrangement, Senate committee members were told by the head of the of Nigerian Immigration Service.
The services, provided by the companies between 2012 and 2016, included the production of e-passports that has become very scarce and expatriate residence permits.
The companies had “contractual agreements to perform some revenue generating service on behalf of the NIS with the company withholding a hefty percentage of revenue that would have accrued to the federal government,” a spokesman for Adeola said.
A statement issued by the committee, which sat on Saturday, said there was a “need to get clarification on this issue from all the parties involved”.
The government officials and companies were summoned to appear before the committee on April 6.