Tinubu authorises lifetime salaries for former immigration service heads

Lifetime remuneration for retired immigration leaders President Bola Tinubu has approved a scheme that provides continuous salaries to former Comptrollers‑General and Deputy Comptrollers‑General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS). The decision was communicated by Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji‑Ojo during the closing of a specialised border‑control training programme in Abuja. The minister said the measure is part of a wider effort to improve the welfare of both active and retired personnel within the interior ministries.

Promotion backlog cleared and recruitment surge Tunji‑Ojo highlighted that the administration has resolved long‑standing promotion backlogs, with more than 50,000 staff members receiving new ranks or postings over the past three years. He also noted a substantial recruitment drive that has added roughly 40,000 new officers to the service, an unprecedented scale for the agency.

Salary and allowance enhancements In addition to the lifetime salary scheme, the minister reported that current immigration officers have benefited from salary increases and higher hazard and special allowances. The previous pension for retired Comptrollers‑General was reported to be around N130,000 per month; the new arrangement replaces that figure with a full salary for life.

Digital transformation of border management The ceremony also served to showcase the ministry’s digital overhaul. More than 15 million migration records have been incorporated into a new electronic border‑management system, supported by a data centre capable of storing over eight petabytes of information. A ten‑year technology roadmap, including a solar‑powered off‑grid data facility, underpins the push to replace fragmented analogue databases with integrated digital platforms.

Training and capacity building The event marked the conclusion of a specialised training course attended by 87 immigration officers, aimed at familiarising staff with the new digital tools and intelligence‑sharing protocols. The minister argued that improved data integration is essential for accurate monitoring of foreign nationals, whose numbers are currently uncertain due to disconnected record‑keeping.

Overall, the announced lifetime pay, combined with extensive promotions, recruitment, and technological upgrades, reflects the government’s stated intention to modernise the immigration service and enhance the welfare of its personnel.