Foreign Missions Plight: Immigration officers struggle with unpaid allowances
Officers from the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) serving on missions abroad have raised concerns over the delayed payment of their allowances dating back to December of last year.
The officers discussed the challenges they have been facing due to the non-receipt of their allowances. While the October and November 2023 allowances were eventually paid in March this year, the delay in payments has severely impacted their livelihoods.
The affected officers highlighted that these allowances cover essential expenses such as housing, health, and utilities, and the prolonged delay has led to significant financial hardships.
Some officers shared that they are struggling to pay their monthly rents, which range from $2,000 and above, in contrast to the yearly rental payments commonly practiced in Nigeria.
Moreover, the officers emphasised that living abroad with their families, a prerequisite for foreign missions, has added to their challenges.
They expressed the need for timely and consistent remuneration to fulfill their duties effectively amidst the doubled hardships faced while stationed in foreign lands.
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“We are finding it difficult to cope with responsibilities such as feeding, education and the provision of necessary family necessities. Things are more expensive in many countries than in Nigeria,” an aggrieved officer said.
Another officer said more worrisome is the decision of the NIS to select two missions (countries) for payment while leaving others to their fate.
According to the officer, the lack of the allowances is really eroding the financial strength of the attachés and can bring embarrassment not only to them, but to the nation at large.
“The mission issues visas to desirous applicants who wish to enter Nigeria for different purposes professionally, thereby facilitating the government agenda of ease of doing business in Nigeria of which immigration service is one of the pivotal stakeholder.
“This is in addition to other bulk of investments the mission facilitates and has been facilitating so far. Again, it makes life much more easier for Nigerians in diaspora, particularly those wanting to renew their international passports and so on. We get this sorted out for them abroad, rather than them coming to Nigeria to get it done.
“Furthermore, the scrutiny and professional advice we offer Nigerians abroad and those foreigners wanting to come to Nigeria for business has gone a long way in putting things right and checking a lot of things that would have turned unpleasant.
“So, it is good to boost the missions and make sure that anything that will hinder it be done away with, and more embarrassing still it even should be unheard of that the challenge of the mission now is the non-payment of immigration officers allowances, and in the process exposing them to hardships and brewing embarrassment abroad,” the officer said.
