Bola Tinubu, the Nigerian President, has lengthened the service periods of the chiefs of the country's correctional and immigration agencies. According to Punch and AllAfrica, Bayo Onanuga, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, announced the decision on Monday. The move adds 18 months to the mandates of Sylvester Ndidi Nwakuche, who leads the Nigerian Correctional Service, and Kemi Nanna Nandap, who heads the Nigeria Immigration Service.
Nairametrics and Premium Times reported that the extension stems from a suggestion by Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo. The goal is to manage a leadership vacuum in both institutions and provide their governing boards with adequate time to select replacements. In the presidential statement, Tinubu praised the two officials for the improvements made during their tenure and instructed them to maintain the progress.
Nairametrics detailed the specific changes highlighted by the presidency, which were implemented jointly with the Federal Ministry of Interior. For the immigration agency, these adjustments involved visa handling, work permits, passport costs, and border control. For the correctional service, key measures included using non-custodial sentences and moving crowded urban prisons to new locations.
Punch noted that this is the second time Nandap’s term has been prolonged. She was initially appointed in early 2024, with Senate confirmation in March of that year. A previous 16-month extension was granted in March 2025. Punch also identified her as the third female leader of the Immigration Service.
Nwakuche was nominated in late 2024 and confirmed by the Senate in early 2025. Before his current role, he served as Deputy Controller-General for training and staff development, a position he held before succeeding Haliru Nababa. Nairametrics added that both agencies have recently implemented personnel changes, including a large-scale promotion drive for correctional officers in late 2025 and a specialized passport team sent to the United Kingdom in mid-2026.