From Joseph Inokotong, Abuja
The Senate Committee on Interior, chaired by Senator Kashim Shettima has strongly advocated for the urgent need of increased budgetary allocation for the Ministry of Interior
This is borne out of the importance of the mandate of internal security of the over 200 million Nigerian population and her vast land and water boarders spanning over 4,000 kilometers in size .
In a statement, A.B.LERE-Adams, Director Press said
Senator Shettima confirmed this very urgent need of increased budgetary allocation to the Interior Ministry when the Minister, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and Management team led by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr Shuaib Belgore appeared before the Senate Committee on Interior for the 2021 Budget Performance and 2022 Budget Defence at the NASS.
Speaking further, the Chairman, Senator Shettima opined that comparatively in other cline, MDAs responsible for internal security of any nation have very huge budget which to a large extent enhances the enthronement of appreciable peace and security.
The budget allocation to the internal security sector assist nations to properly strategize and plan for needed activities of monitoring and surveillance arrangements for checking timely movement of both human aliens who come into nations illegally with dangerous arms and ammunition, headers and their cattles, miners with fake travel document, all of these come in through porous and unmanned and unprotected boarders creating numerable insecurities and chaos to the country.
Other members of the Committee, also submitted that for effective monitoring and surveillance of the Nigerian boarder as it obtains in ideal society, the Police and Custom Services aught to be under the supervision and coordination of the Interior Ministry, this will most likely go a long way to ensure the much desired concerted efforts envisaged to achieving internal security which is the only panacea for peace and tranquility in Nigeria.
Moreso, other members of the Committee agreed that there must be synergy with other arms of the Nigerian Security architecture like the Army, the SSS and the Nigerian Air Force that has suitable surveillance equipment like aircrafts to assist the Ministry in regular surveillance activities, while the Interior Ministry should be seen to be coordinating all these activities as well.
Earlier on, the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola when asked about the Policy Thrust of the Ministry, said the Ministry is primarily responsible for broadly Security, Integrity and Citizenship of the citizenry.
He said further that the Ministry addresses directly citizenship, Travel Document, Residence Permit , Insurance of Expatriate Quota, Marriages and Inter- Marriages, while superintending over it’s Four Services of the Nigerian Immigration Service, Federal Fire Service, Nigeria Correctional Service Facility and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corp.
The Senators expressed great appreciation to the Minister and the Ministry in their efforts at achieving the results of their mandate despite the very lean budgetary allocation and unanimously said the Minister deserves their empathy.
The Chairman thereafter asked the Minister to lay the Budget Document before the Committee with a bow.
