Reps tell oil companies to stop violations of expatriate quota
The House of Reps has directed foreign oil and gas companies to seek Nigeria Content Development Management Board’s to approval before applying for expatriate quota at the Ministry of Interior.
The Chairman of the House’s of Representatives Committee on Local Content, Mr. Emmanuel Ekon gave the directive on Thursday during a stakeholders meeting on expatriate quota for oil and gas companies organized by the committee.
Mr. Ekon who decried the persistent violation of the provisions of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development, Act 2010 by the foreign firms said many of the multinationals persistently violated the provisions of the Act thereby failing to give the full and fair opportunities to Nigerians in their award of contracts and recruitment.
“The provision for the first consideration of employment and training is often ignored and many of the companies do not have offices in communities of their operation.Which Also, training Programmes for the Nigerian personnel is not adequate and the requirement for succession plan is often ignored.
He pointed out that most of the companies had no approval for the expatriates working for them, emphasizing the need for the Ministry of Interior and the Nigerian Immigration Services to demand the board’s approval before issuing or renewing expatriate quotas.
“Some of them have expatriates with no requisite qualifications to work in the industry,” he said.
In his remark, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, stressed the need for increased sensitization and enforcement of the law as the world moved from monopolized employee status to global employee status.
He emphasized the need for the Ministry of Interior and the Nigerian Immigration Services (NIS) to see a copy of the board’s approval before issuing or renewing expatriate quotas.
“There is a need to ensure that the people who are sent to occupy positions are qualified to justify their positions,” Mr. Ekon finally added.
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