By Olamilekan FAWAS
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) on Friday said it recorded 81,003 non-ECOWAS foreign nationals legally resident in the country as at Aug. 31.
NIS Comptroller General, Mr Muhammad Babandede, made this known in a statement signed by the agency’s spokesman, Mr Sunday James, in Abuja.
A breakdown of the figure, according to Babandede, shows that 2,694 were Americans, 3,946 Britons, 17,995 Chinese, 31,660 Indians, 6,295 Lebanese and 1,295 Germans.
He stated that there were 17,118 foreign nationals from 92 other countries resident in Nigeria.
Babandede also disclosed that the NIS issued 82,084 Visas on Arrival (VoA) at six international airports and 7,570 Temporary Work Permits (TWPs) in the country within the period.
Giving a breakdown of the TWP figure, he said 1,492 were issued to Indians, 1,171 to Chinese and 987 to Britons.
He said 1,006 TWPs were issued to South Africans, 641 to Italians, 649 to Ukrainians and the remaining 1,624 to other foreign nationals.
The NIS boss said that in line with its mandate as enshrined in Section 2 (a) – (f) of the Immigration Act 2015, the agency would henceforth be giving a quarterly report of migrants resident in Nigeria.
He restated the the agency’s commitment to securing the nation’s borders in addition to effective discharge of its administrative and operational duties.
In doing these, Babandede said the NIS would remain guided by international best practices and respect for the rights of migrants without compromising national security.
