President Bola Tinubu has expressed support for a new initiative that aims to limit the influx of foreign workers in Nigeria and promote the transfer of skills and technology to Nigerians.
The Expatriate Employment Levy (EEL), launched by the Interior Ministry on Tuesday, imposes timeline limits on expatriates while generating revenue to train and develop local workers to take over jobs currently held by foreigners.
The President who, at the launch of the policy at the Presidential Villa, commended the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, for his innovations in the ministry, especially in lessening the frustrations of Nigerians in passport issuance.
Tinubu said the policy aligns with his agenda on job creation and economic growth.
However, Tinubu cautioned officials against turning EEL into an administrative bottleneck that deters foreign investors.
He declared his backing for the scheme but warned operators not to frustrate potential investors.
Commenting on the EEL initiative, the President 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 timelines 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 at the forefront of technology transfer and stem the brain drain associated with our current situation.
“We expect revenue generation improvement, improved naturalization and indigenization, employment of more Nigerians by foreign companies operating in this country, balancing of employment opportunities between Nigerians and expatriates, close wage gaps between the expatriate and the Nigerian labour force by making it more attractive to hire Nigerians.”
Tinubu maintained that with the quality of people manning critical sectors of the country, “we are glad that good effort is being made to retool, re-engineer the finances of the country and make growth our hallmark.”
He continued, “I’ve been further assured that the project has the capacity of plugging loopholes and gaps that have bedeviled 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,” he warned.
The minister in his comments explained that EEL was a Public-Private Project (PPP) aimed at labour and technological demonstration in the country.
According to him, the project was in sync with the President’s 8-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 Nigerian 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 renewals for expatriate quotas have 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 in which Nigeria should be able to be trained to be able to take over this responsibility and create opportunities for our teeming youth,” Tunji-Ojo explained.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Interior, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, said he was excited that the initiative was centered around the need to ensure that jobs that Nigerians could do were handled by Nigerians and not by expatriates.
Oshiomhole lamented that he had to express his disappointment to a former Minister of Interior on how foreigners entered the country as tourists only to be found doing menial jobs in the land.
“I have been concerned about how we can put in place a policy that will ensure that companies, whether indigenous companies or foreign companies, don’t bring technicians and read them as engineers when some Nigerian engineers work under them as technicians,” he said.
The lawmaker, who advocated that Nigerian jobs must be for Nigerians, assured of the support of the members of the National Assembly for the policy.
