The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior, Dr. Shuaib Belgore, on Saturday denied instituting a committee to stop Nigerian youths from traveling out of the country.
He stated that all Nigerian were free to travel to countries of their choice through legal means.
This was contained in a statement issued by Raphael Towoju on behalf of the ministry’s Director of Press, Blessing Lere-Adams.
The statement was titled, ‘No committee set up to stop youths from going abroad.’
It read in part, “ This is to clarify the mis-reporting observed with the recent visit of a Presidential Committee to the Ministry of Interior.
“What the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior, Dr. Shuaib Belgore, said when he received the team from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation on behalf of the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, can be succinctly put thus:
“The Permanent Secretary did not say any Nigerian who is willing and ready to follow the legal channels to travel, should not do so.
“All Nigerians seeking legal means to travel around the world are free to so do.
“The permanent secretary also said that the committee should work with the Citizenship and Business Department of the ministry to facilitate opportunities for youths to benefit from the local content prospects of the ministry’s Expatriate Quota programme thereby creating decent job opportunities for Youths in Nigeria.
“The Ministry of Interior with its associated agencies remain committed to ensuring security of lives and property of Nigerians, public safety and citizenship integrity of all.”
Copyright PUNCH.
