Seven Promises of new Interior Minister, Tunji-Ojo

The Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, assumed office on Monday immediately after his inauguration at the Villa. He has been mandated to turn around the fortunes of the ministry and its agencies by formulating policies that will help the country effectively deal with all issues around internal security. On Tuesday, he met with journalists […]

The Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, assumed office on Monday immediately after his inauguration at the Villa.

He has been mandated to turn around the fortunes of the ministry and its agencies by formulating policies that will help the country effectively deal with all issues around internal security.

On Tuesday, he met with journalists to unveil his blueprint in actualizing President Bola Tinubu’s “Renewed Hope” agenda.

Here are seven major things he promised to do:

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Deployment of technology in border security

The minister said the federal government would deploy technology to effectively secure Nigeria’s borders.

He said: “We need to secure our borders and we need to ensure that all borders, either land, air, or sea borders, are all protected.

“We have to look into technology to complement and consolidate what we are already doing.

Removal of passport bottlenecks

He said the issue of visas and passport delays and bottlenecks would be looked into in order to sanitize the system.

He said Nigerians should be able to get their passports without going through stress, maintaining that it was their right to have the document.

“Nigerians, including those in the diaspora, must be treated with respect in all our passport offices.

“Foreigners should be able to come to Nigeria based on merit. It can no longer be business as usual,” he said.

Improved fire response time

While noting that fire is a serious disaster, the minister said the Federal Fire Service must optimize its processes.

“For the Federal Fire Service, the response time, we are going to look into that.

“I know you have your challenges, but I am going to work with you to tackle them,” he said.

Decongestion of custodial centres

Hon. Tunji-Ojo said he would work with critical stakeholders on the administration of criminal justice in Nigeria.

“We have to look at how to decongest the custodial centres and effectively integrate ex-convicts back into society. Our custodial centres must become places of hope,” he added.

Tackling insecurity 

The minister vowed that he would make sure the internal security situation in Nigeria improved so that Nigerians could sleep with their eyes closed.

Tunji-Ojo, who harped on proactiveness, said all variables that contribute to insecurity would be dealt with before they escalate.

While positing that security is a right, he said: “We can’t embarrass the president, we can’t disgrace the president.

“He wants performance and you [officials of the ministry] will perform. Nigerians must sleep and be able to close their eyes.”

Reformation of inmates

The minister also expressed dismay that the Nigerian correctional system is only recycling criminals, vowing to halt the trend.

“What we have is a system where we are recycling criminals. They get incarcerated, do their time, discharged to society and they go back to crime and get arrested and incarcerated all over again,” he said.

He promised to make the correctional institution a place where criminals will be reformed and released to make meaningful contributions to society when released.

Passage of new Fire Act

Tunji-Ojo also lamented the lackadaisical attitude of Nigerians towards fire safety, insisting that he would see to the passage of the new fire service act to ensure that residential buildings obey fire laws.

He said Nigerians lose so much to fire outbreaks, adding that action must be taken to address the situation.

“You have a fire extinguisher in your car but you don’t deem it fit to have one at your home where you spend more time. We will ensure that Nigerians take fire safety seriously,” he added.