…as Interior Ministry earns N1.195bn on issuance in 10 months
…Minister says foreign prisoners work in Nigeria’s construction industry
OSAS EMMANUEL
ABUJA, Nigeria – The Senate on Wednesday lamented the unfortunate denial of hundreds of thousands of Nigerians jobs available in the country as a result of high level issuance of expatriate quotas to foreigners by the Federal Ministry of Interior.
The condemnation came amidst disclosure by the Interior Minister, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, that the Ministry exceeded its projected revenue on expatriate quota issuance by raking in a whopping N1.195 billion in 10 months.
The Minister and management team of the ministry appeared before the joint committee of the Senate and House of Representatives on Interior on Wednesday, in respect of the defence of the 2024 budgetary proposals.
The Ministry had told the Senator Adams Oshiomhoke-led joint committee that his ministry surpassed its budgetary target of N600 million revenue from issuance of expatriate quotas in the 2023 fiscal year, by earning N1.195 billion from January to October this year.
The joint committee, however, took up the ministry on issuance of the expatriate quotas, alleging that such issuance created avenue for “stealing jobs from Nigerians in Nigeria by expatriates”.
The Minister, had in his presentation to the joint committee in 2022 and outgoing 2023 fiscal years, said the Ministry surpassed its budgetary revenue projections on expatriate quotas and marriage.
He specifically submitted to the committee that in 2023, while N600 million was targeted as revenue to be generated from issuance of expatriate quotas to deserving foreign firms in the country, N1.195 billion, has, as at October 31, 2023, been generated from it.
“Aside the projected revenue from expatriate quotas that had been surpassed by about N600m extra, the N380 million projected revenue from marriage, has also been surpassed by over N500 million, with N892.774 million realised as at October 31, 2023,” he said.
But the Chairman of the joint committee, Senator Adams Oshiomhole (APC Edo North ), told the Minister that while it is heartwarming that the Ministry surpassed its revenue targets on issuance of expatriate quotas, the policy is giving room for expatriates to steal jobs meant for Nigerians in Nigeria.
“Your Ministry needs to regulate issuance of the quotas very well, as I have on good authority that prisoners from foreign land are working in Nigeria as construction workers.
“This is even different from the age-long fraud the oil companies have been carrying out in the country through the policy of expatriate quotas, by making our own qualified engineers to work under foreign technicians.
“Many non Nigerians are in the country, some of them live inside containers. I even believe and dare say it that there are foreign prisoners who are working in Nigeria. They were shipped to our country to serve their prison terms.
“They were being paid according to their country’s minimum wage by the construction industry that brought them. I don’t want to mention the company’s name but if I am provoked, I will mention them.
“Honourable Minister, this is a serious issue, prisoners are not expected to work in their countries if the product or whatever they engage in is meant to be exported,” he said.
Responding, the Minister assured the committee members that the Ministry had already come up with a project for job protection for Nigerians.
The project, according to him, is Expatriate Employee Network (EEN), primarily aimed to safeguard jobs meant for Nigerians from being stolen by expatriates and also prevent expatriate workers from evading tax payment in Nigeria.
