The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has credited President Bola Tinubu with clearing promotion backlogs across services under the ministry and approving lifetime salaries for retired Comptrollers-General and Deputy Comptrollers-General of Immigration.
Tunji-Ojo made the disclosure on Friday during the closing ceremony of a specialised training programme on Border Control and Immigration Management System at the Nigeria Immigration Service headquarters in Abuja, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.
The minister said more than 50,000 personnel had benefited from promotions within the past three years, describing the development as unprecedented. He also noted that the administration had expanded recruitment, with at least 40,000 personnel recruited in a single exercise.
He further highlighted improvements in workers’ welfare, including salary increases and adjustments to hazard and peculiar allowances, which he attributed to the President’s approval.
On retirement benefits, Tunji-Ojo recalled that former Comptrollers-General of Immigration previously received pensions of about N130,000, which he described as inadequate. He said Tinubu subsequently approved lifetime salaries for retired Comptrollers-General and Deputy Comptrollers-General.
According to the minister, the President has demonstrated a strong commitment to the welfare of serving and retired personnel across the services under the Ministry of Interior.
He urged officers to reciprocate the administration’s support by carrying out their responsibilities diligently and ensuring that Nigerians receive better service.
“Everything we have asked of him, he has done. This is the least we can do,” Tunji-Ojo said.
The minister also described Tinubu’s policies as focused on building sustainable institutions capable of delivering results beyond the lifespan of his administration.
He said the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda prioritised long-term national development rather than immediate gains, using the analogy of planting seeds today to secure a more prosperous future.
“President Bola Tinubu has never been about the immediate, but the future. He understands that the most prosperous nations do not boil, cook, and eat their seeds; they plant them,” he said.
Tunji-Ojo added that Tinubu recognised that no president could remain in office indefinitely, stressing that the enduring value of leadership lay in establishing strong institutions and creating a legacy that future generations could build upon.
