The Nigerian government says it will begin the clampdown on irregular migrants from August 1.

The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this during a meeting with the Nigerian Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) on Tuesday in Abuja.

Mr Tunji-Ojo said the federal government was giving a three-month grace period to the irregular migrants starting from May 1.

“So by August 1, there will be a strict clampdown on irregular immigrants in the country.

“We hope people will take advantage of the three-month grace period to regularise and subject themselves to established immigration protocols,” he said.

The minister also disclosed that the new Expatriate Administration System (EAS) would commence, effective May 1, after which enforcement would begin from August 1.

He added that there would be an immigration amnesty programme for the regularisation of due processes for three months.

According to him, the federal government will no longer tolerate a situation where some companies obstruct the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) from carrying out its legitimate duties.

“We have agreed that the era when some very few companies behave irresponsibly by distorting, blocking and, as a matter of fact, avoiding being subjected to immigration laws will no longer be tolerated.

“We all agree with the private sector that by virtue of the law, the immigration service has a right to do their job and must perform their mandate.

“We will be very hard on any company that avoids or prevents the NIS from carrying out its legal responsibility, as we will not tolerate that going forward,” the minister said.

Mr Tunji-Ojo further said there had also been a review of fees to encourage sustainability for certain citizenship and business activities of the government.

“We have jointly agreed, negotiated and met in the middle. A detailed breakdown will be provided officially,” the minister said.

(NAN)