ZONAL COORDINATOR ZONE A, ACG OG OSISANYA fdc VISITS LAGOS COMMAND.

The Assistant Comptroller General in charge of Zone A, ACG OG Osisanya today 8th of February paid a working familiarization visit to Lagos State Command. The visit which forms part of his inaugural tour of all Commands and Formations under Lagos Zone is designed to give the ACG a first hand assessment of the challenges and needs of the entire Zone.

The Zonal Coordinator in his address to Officers and Men of the Command commended them for the warm reception accorded him and also distinctly expressed his delight at the professional performance of the Quater Guard Parade. He rehashed the Ag Comptroller-General, Idris Jere’s cardinal objectives but particularly expanded more on his commitment to implement a comprehensive welfare package for Officers and Men of the Service. He however, relayed the Ag CG’s demand for an improved commitment on the part of officers and men in the spirit of reciprocity.

ACG Osisanya conveyed the Ag CG’s warning against dissemination of official informaition through unofficial social media platforms. He described the act as a brazen violation of Public Service Rules as well as the Oath of Secrecy we are all signatories to.

The Zone A Coordinator closed his address by highlighting the role Divisional Immigration Officers (DIO’s) play in the internal security of the country. He charged the DIO’s to double their efforts due to the fact that Lagos is a melting pot and cosmopolitan area with the trappings that attract’s all forms of economic migrants. He particularly, highlighted the dictates of the Ecowas Protocol which demands that all Ecowas nationals that wishes to explore the rights guaranteed in the Protocol must also abide by the conditions as clearly stated in it. ACG Osisanya instructed the Comptroller to implement a mechanism that will guarantee a routine weekly security reports of all activities in the twenty LGAs in the state.
He afterwards, dismissed the parade and promised to convey the uncovered parts of his address through the CIS and the Command’s Sectional Heads in the Management meeting that held afterwards.

The Comptroller of Lagos State Command, CIS MD Bagiwa pcc in his welcome address promised to consolidate on the accomplishments of his predecessor who he said, “initiated several Corporate Social Responsibility sponsored projects which has significantly improved the conditions of the Command’s Provisional and Annex Office complexes.”

CIS Bagiwa expressed his “determination to ensure that the completed projects are duly maintained and optimally utilised as much as possible”. He declared his resolve to explore avenues that’ll facilitate the improvement of the Command’s Provisional and Annex Facilities, wherever and whenever necessity demands. He admitted that infrastructure wise, the Command is in a better condition than he left when he previously served here, and promised to ensure he will leave it in a better condition when his tenure his over.”

The Comptroller assured the Zonal Coordinator that he will ensure the nearly completed Personal Training and Resource Centre ,(PTRC) constructed by the International Organisation for Migration(IOM) will serve the purpose as intended for. He disclosed that the ever evolving digital transition of our services demands that all Officers and Men of the Command must take full advantage of the Centre to update their knowledge and keep pace with the evolving trends in our ever dynamic operating environment.”

CIS Bagiwa revealed to the ACG “he made it crystal clear to his Sectional and Unit Heads that they must observe rules of engagement and ensure that the Standard Operational Practice (SOP) is optimally observed. The rules of engagement which entails probity, professionalism, fairness, justice and discipline must be stoutly observed in all our engagements with members of the public, in line with the Ag Comptroller-General’s cardinal objectives. He also made it clear that there will be zero tolerance to extortion, undue harassment and exploitation of the public we are meant to dutifully serve. He disclosed to the Zonal Coordinator that he charged them to place a premium on the job as there can be no room for complacency in accomplishing the task of making Lagos Command, and by extension Lagos State investor-friendly in keeping with the ease of doing business mantra of the Federal Government.”

The Lagos Command Comptroller “unequivocally assured ACG Osisanya that he is staunchly commited to ensuring that the Alausa Passport Control Office transparently adhere to the newly implemented Passport Administration Policy. He made it clear that the appointment system which has brought about order and reduced the stress mileage of our Passport Processing Officers will not be sabotaged for any reason whatsoever.”

CIS Bagiwa seized the opportunity of the ACG’s first official familiarization visit to the Command by tabling a number of requests. He did seek the Coordinator’s assistance to apply the necessary pressure required to expedite the completion of the Command’s Headquarter’s Building. He pleaded that the speedy completion of the building will greatly address the challenge of office space shortage currently affecting the Command. The CIS also entreated the support of his boss with regards to pulling together human and material resources required for setting up of a Music Band. The Band which is an important Unit in all Paramilitary Agencies will not only serve Lagos Command, but also by extension serve all other Commands and Formations within the state whenever necessity demands.”

The Comptroller concluded his address by “drawing the attention of the ACG to the need for the swift renovation and fixing of necessary utilities in the Command’s Screening Centre.” This he said is imperative, given the Command’s obligation to ensure we keep up with the minimum global acceptable standard. He revealed that the Centre in its present state, requires significant material and financial support to make it more habitable for the detention of suspects in the facility.”

The Zone A Coordinator in his response disclosed that the purpose of the visit is to acquaint himself with the ongoings in biggest and most important Command in the country. He commended CIS Bagiwa for his graceful acknowledgement of his predecessors accomplishments. He urged the Management of the Command to extend the unequivocal support they accorded his predecessor which he believes was fundamental to the success of the immediate past Comptroller to CIS Bagiwa.
He labelled his visit as a form of homecoming after having visited the state on several occasions as part of the immediate past Comptroller General’s entourage. He’s also represented the outgone CG in several functions hosted in the state.

The ACG once again rehashed the need for the Command to place a premium on ensuring that the twenty Local Government Areas in the state are well monitored. He revealed that the only reason the NIS is accommodated in State Security Councils hinges on the fact that we have officers stationed in all 774 Local Government Areas in the country. He charged officers and men of the Command, particularly DIOs to double their efforts by ensuring that our inclusion in the State Security Councils is justified. He highlighted the importance of control after entry in order to rid the state of irregular migrants given the economic attraction embedded in Lagos.
ACG Osisanya urged officers to discharge their duties with the civility required of Officers of the Federal Republic as we imminently recommence inspection of companies with expatriates under their employment. He warned against embarrassment, exploitation and harassment of investors who come in with Foreign Direct Investments. He advised officers to use discretional latitude to correct documentation inconsistences when noticed rather than use it as an avenue to exploit for personal gains. He however instructed officers to force out any expatriate who refuses to comply with our attempt to correct and regularise their documents.

The ACG charged officers to dutifully protect the newly implemented appointment system for Passport applications introduced by the Service in conjunction with the Ministry of Interior. “He explained that the appointment system as currently implemented, is working as it has created order and reduce the stress mileage of Passport Processing Officers triggered by the rowdiness that was the norm in all Passport Control Offices before the appointment system. The Zonal Coordinator admitted that the challenges resulting from the appointment system due to fact that the autogenerated appointment dates assigned to some applicants may be too long. He assured that the top echelon of the Service is currently exploring measures to address the challenge. He concluded by revealing that the appointment system gives the Service ample time to verify the veracity of the documents presented by applicants as against the rumours that it is a pretext to mask our inability to provide booklets as demanded by the public.

The Tour was concluded after a guided tour of the entire infrastructure of the Command.