Minister of Interior Abba Moro has said that the country would need $244 million to install electronic surveillance round the nation's borders. This is even as he said that 30 illegal guard companies had been discovered, while the operator of one of them is in the net.
Addressing the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday in Abuja, Moro said the United States Department which offered to assist Nigeria as part of its international war against terror had already picked some component of the facilities which a private Chinese company, under a Public Private Partnership (PPP), has quoted.
The minister denied allegation of employment racketeering in his ministry, saying: "Some unscrupulous elements opened a website in the name of the ministry which they have been using to dupe unsuspecting members of the public.
"One of them even used my name to open such website, but we have arrested him somewhere in Asokoro, Abuja, when I asked one of his would-be victims to play along with him". He added that when the ministry realised infraction of expatriate quota and other forms of racketeering involving foreign companies, he decided to harmonise the issuance of such permits in line with extant rules which permits the minister to be the only authorising organ.
Speaking on border control, though Moro acknowledged that the country's vast borders were porous, he said when the projects to be mounted by the United States Department and the Chinese company come on stream, the illegal 1,497 routes into the country would be effectively policed.
He said: "We are making efforts to procure appropriate modern technology to be installed along our borders and we are collaborating with the United States Department and a private Chinese company for which we had initially received a cost of $244 million.
"With the assistance of the United States Department, we realised that some components of the offer we got from the private firm was contained in what the former would be offering us. "When we have done this, the temptation of illegal entry into Nigeria will be reduced."
National Mirror