FG to sanction companies flouting expatriate policy

The Federal Government has resolved to sanction companies that fail to comply with the law guiding the employment of qualified Nigerians to understudy expatriates.

The Special Ministerial Task Force on Monitoring and Enforcement of Nigerian Expatriate Business Permit and Expatriate Quota Administration stated at the weekend that the era of shortchanging Nigerians had gone, as the task force would ensure full compliance of the policy.

Chairman of the task force, Bola Ilori, disclosed that the task force had directed companies in the country to submit the Tax Identification Number (TIN), National Identification Number (NIN), phone number and email address of Nigerians understudying expatriates in their organisations.

He said the decision was reached at the meeting of the task force with representatives of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) other professional bodies as well as officials of the Ministry of Interior.

Ilori said: “Every company must submit the details of Nigerians understudying expatriates in their organisations.

“We have discovered that some of the companies are not sincere; they just want to keep renewing the permits of their expatriates at the detriment of Nigerians. We want to know whether they are circumventing the policy or adhering to it.”

The problem, according to him, is that some of the companies are either not employing Nigerians at all or using school certificate holders to understudy expatriate managers.

“How can a school certificate holder understudy a manager? What they are aiming at is that when the time comes for the expatriates to exit, the companies will say those understudying the expatriates cannot become managers and you will agree with them. What that means is that Nigerians will not get to such positions and the expatriates will be there forever.

“How can a school cert holder succeed a manager, when we have millions of degree holders. But they do that deliberately to defeat the purpose of the Federal Government’s policy.”

The task force will do everything to ensure that Nigerians are no longer denied the opportunity to work in companies owned by foreigners in the country.