Tinubu moves to stop expatriates from displacing Nigerian workers

Says policy not against foreign investors

Towards controlling influx of expatriates, generating funds and checkmating insecurity, President Bola Tinubu, yesterday, launched a fresh policy, Expatriate Employment Fund (EEL), by the Ministry of Interior.

At the launch of the policy at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Tinubu, who applauded the Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo-led innovations in the ministry of Interior, especially in addressing the bottlenecks in passport issuance, however, cautioned the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) against turning the EEL into an administrative bottleneck to frustrate foreign investors in the country.

He said: “I consider it a game changer. It is important to know that EEL is a contribution recently approved by the government, which will impose effective timeline on expatriates working in this country, to be able to train and develop Nigerians.

“I’ve listened to Honourable Adams Oshiomhole, the distinguished senator, making very good and valid points on why Nigeria should be in the forefront of technology transfer and stem the brain drain associated with our current situation.

“We expect revenue generation improvement, improved naturalisation and indigenisation, employment of more Nigerians by foreign companies operating in this country, balancing of employment opportunities between Nigerians and expatriates, close wage gap between the expatriate and the Nigerian labour force by making it more attractive to hire Nigerians.”

Tinubu said with the quality of people manning critical sectors of the country, “we are glad that good effort is being made to retool, reengineer the finances of the country and make growth our hallmark.”

He added: “I’ve been further assured that the project has the capacity of plugging loopholes and gaps that have bedevilled the country in dealing with security challenges, movement of foreigners in and out of the country.

“Interestingly, this scheme will wield the dual fold of revenue generation as well as addressing employment challenges as salary gaps attendant in the remuneration of expatriate workers as compared with their Nigerian counterparts.

“I declare my support for the Expatriate Employment Levy scheme and I will continue to encourage the operators, practitioners of immigration matters and expatriate quotas, but don’t use it as a bottleneck, don’t use it to frustrate potential investors.”

The minister, in his comment, explained that EEL was a Public, Private Project (PPP) aimed at labour and technological demonstration in the country.
According to him, the project is in sync with the President’s eight-point agenda, especially on the issue of job security and economic growth.

“The main essence is to be sure that if you are bringing an expatriate to work in Nigeria, it should be a job that no Nigeria has the skill to do. That’s the major objective of this particular initiative, balancing employment opportunities between Nigerians and expatriates and, of course, closing wage gaps between expatriates and the Nigerian labor force by making it more attractive to hire Nigerians.

“Part of the motivation is to reduce the dependence of companies on foreign personnel. And, of course, to also reduce the rate at which renewal for expatriate quotas has been sought after by companies.

“If this is well implemented, of which we can assure your excellency, it will be duly implemented. We want to see a scenario whereby once an expatriate comes, there will be a knowledge transition period of which Nigeria should be able to be trained to be able to take over this responsibility and create opportunities for our teeming youths,” Tunji-Ojo explained.

Chairman, Senate Committee on Interior, Senator Adams Oshiomhole commended the initiative, especially as it centres around the need to ensure that jobs that Nigerians could do were handled by Nigerians and not by expatriates.