The Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has said the Federal Government is set to establish a National Paramilitary Academy.

Tunji-Ojo said this when he hosted a delegation of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), led by its Managing Director, Malam Ali Muhammad Ali, yesterday in Abuja.

The delegation included the Director of Planning, Research and Statistics Department, Mr. Kayode Olaitan, and the Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Hadiza Aliyu-Muhammed.

The minister said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu approved the institution at Monday’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja.

He said there is a need to establish a degree-awarding institution where young citizens would be trained on paramilitary engagement.

According to him, such a degree-awarding institution, like the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), will train young persons after securing admissions through the University Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

“When they come out, they come out as officers, properly trained to contribute their quota to national security,” Tunji-Ojo said.

The minister announced that President Tinubu also approved the employment of 50 doctors and 100 nurses to cater for the medical needs of inmates in correctional centres across the country.

He added that there was also presidential approval for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to post medical doctors to correctional centres for the service year.

Tunji-Ojo said this was in realisation of the need to protect the rights of the weakest in society

He also said visa issuance in Nigeria had taken a new dimension, adding that all Nigerian visas would now be applied for online and available to applicants within 48 to 72 hours.

The minister, who reiterated that efforts were in place to sanitise the Private Guard sector, insisted that it should no longer be regarded as a poverty alleviation programme.

“We are ensuring that the sector is structurally built in such a way that it can add value to the security architecture of the country.

“We are in the process of deploying what we call the Guard Management System for the automation of processes along that line,” Tunji-Ojo said.

He acknowledged the support of the President in achieving the mandates of all agencies under the ministry in line with the Tinubu administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

The minister assured NAN of his support and collaboration, saying such partnership would offer great opportunities for information dissemination about the activities of the ministry.

“I want to thank you for the collaboration drive because we all understand that nation building is a joint task and all of us must put our heads together to make sure that we deliver,” he said.

Ali had said NAN, being the largest content provider in Africa, was ready to partner the ministry.

“An important ministry like yours is a ready partner given the volume of work you do, especially concerning immigration and internal security among others,” Ali said.