The Federal Government has directed the Nigeria Immigration
Service to write to federal, state and local government institutions
and agencies to henceforth include the return of diplomatic passports as
part of the conditions for payment of retirement and severance
benefits.
The FG’s directive was in response to a proposal to
President Muhammadu Buhari on the refusal of some former governors,
ministers and senators to submit their diplomatic passports to the NIS.
This was disclosed on Wednesday in Abuja by the Comptroller-General of Immigration, Mohammed Babandede during an interview.
The CG stated that sterner measures may also be considered,
including prosecution of recalcitrant former public office-holders,
noting however, that some past officials had submitted their diplomatic
passports to the immigration service.
He said, “Following the reluctance of some former
office-holders to return their diplomatic passports, I wrote to the
Presidency and proposed that we could take certain measures to compel
those who are not entitled to the diplomatic passports to return them.
“The NIS has received approval to write to federal, state
and local government institutions to henceforth include the return of
this government document as some of the things to return before payment
of retirement benefits.
”If you are a Senator or members of House of
Representatives, before you finish your tenure, there is something that
is called severance benefits. Before you collect the benefits, you must
return your diplomatic passport .
“Also, you cannot cross the border with the diplomatic
passport whether going or coming if you are not entitled to it, we will
collect it. The best I can do for you is to give you photocopy of the
passport or a letter that I have confiscated the passport.”
The NIS boss said he once warned a former minister whose
name he did not mention, that he could get two years jail term for
refusing to surrender his diplomatic passport.
“The next thing we will do is to go from house to house to
collect it. It is an offense. I told a former minister that it is an
offense for you to hold a (diplomatic) passport when you don’t deserve
it . It attracts two years jail term; will soon begin to catch
defaulters. People have started returning a lot of the passports,” he
said.
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