The Senate committee on Local Content has called on the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) to partner with the committee in ensuring that the Local Content Act is strictly applied in the area of expatriate quota to secure employment of Nigerians and prevent unnecessary transfer of our foreign exchange in the name of engaging foreign experts when there are local human resources available.
Speaking during a working visit to NIS Headquarter in Abuja, Senator Solomon Adeola (APC, Lagos West) the chairman of the Senate Local Content Committee said the 8th Senate is poised to fully see that the Local Content Act of 2010 is fully enforced in the oil and gas industry to ensure Nigerians are gainfully employed in the industry as well as amend the Act to cover other areas that foreigners have been depriving Nigerians of employment as well as repatriating our foreign exchange through engagement of foreigners and procurement of goods.
Sen. Adeola said the expertise of NIS will be needed when the Committee visit companies covered by the Act in relations to employment of expatriates and their status adding that most of our qualified graduates in oil and gas related disciplines are roaming the streets without jobs whereas expatriates are collecting fat salaries on jobs that our locals can conveniently undertake.
Responding to the Senator’s request, Alhaji Mohammed Babandede, the Comptroller General of Immigration said most of the problems of youth agitation in the Niger Delta could be solved by effective implementation of Local Content Act as too often expatriates take over jobs that could easily be done by locals adding however that it is the Ministry of Interior that handles approval of Expatriate Quota while NIS implements such approval.
He promised that the NIS will always act on information from the Senate in relation to deportation or any other issues in relation to expatriate status in Nigeria adding that INTEL Nigeria Limited and 5 other companies whose license to operate in the Onne Free Trade Zones has been terminated have been given a November 30 deadline to repatriate their expatriates or else they with be deported with consequences of no entry into Nigeria in the next 5 years.
Committee members that were part of the visit include Sen. Biodun Olujimi, the Senate Minority Whip, Sen. Dino Melaye, Sen. Ali Wakili, Sen. Albert Akpan, Sen. Chukwuka Utazi and Sen. Abubakar Gumel.