The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has deployed additional officers to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos following the commissioning of the new international terminal at the airport, findings by our correspondent have revealed.
However, the terminal commissioned penultimate week by President Muhammadu Buhari is yet to be put into use, Daily Trust learnt.
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The terminal is expected to boost the number of passengers using the airport by an additional 14m.
The new terminal is equipped with a censored conveyor belt, seven jet bridges, 10 ultra-modern cooling systems, heat extraction in the baggage hall, ample space for duty-free shops and banks, recreational areas for children, 22-room hotel for stop-overs among others.
With this, the service, according to a source, felt the need to deploy more officers into the terminal to make passengers’ screening seamless.
Already, it was learnt that the officers deployed are already undergoing intensive training ahead of their resumption of duty.
The source, who spoke with our correspondent on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the press, said: “The officers are now going through intensive two-week training at the cargo unit of the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos Command for reorientation and they would join their mates on the completion of the training.”
Also, it was learnt that after the two weeks of training, the officers would be sent to understudy the various units of the command in order to acquaint themselves with the rudiments.
The source said: “You need certain skills to work at such a command.
“So, the training is very important for them. The attitude of our officers to the travelling public is very necessary, yet you must convey the message you need to convey to them without compromise.
“After the training, we will now make them understudy the various units to be able to know what others do.
“Then, the officers will go back to class and ask questions based on their observations and on how they can get better results.”
Besides, our correspondent gathered that the federal government Tuesday carried out a simulation exercise for agencies that would function at the new international terminal, including the immigration officers.
During the simulation training, it was learnt that some of the gaps noticed in the system were itemised for correction.
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