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Presidency queries Immigration
By Wisdom Patrick
SnrCorrespondent, Lagos
Aso Rock has
queriedthe Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) over its reported abuse of
expatriate quota rules, a practice which often neglects qualified Nigerians for
foreignworkers.
Affected companies
inthe oil industry have been asked to turn in their lists of expatriates
withimmediate effect for re-validation and updating by the relevant
governmentagency.
The Presidency,through
the vice president�s office, took over the investigation of theallegation which
includes outright transfer of expatriates to companies whichdo not require
them.
The practice
hasangered the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of
Nigeria(PENGASSAN) and it is protesting seriously.
PENGASSAN PresidentBrown
Ogbeifun said: �What the majority of them are doing now is a shiftbetween the
NIS and the Ministry of Labour to convert expatriate quotas to workpermits. But
that is not what we are saying. What we are saying is that, are youeven
supposed to be in the country to do the work you are doing now?�
Ogbeifun, who gave
apass mark to the Villa for its action on the matter, insisted that the
oilsector is the greatest culprit in the abuse. �I think there is a need fora
complete review of this instrument by the National Assembly for the benefitand
protection of Nigerians�.
He decried a
situationwhere a Nigerian qualified petroleum engineer is passed over for a
foreign� technician who is paid millions
ofnaira.
In his view, the
muchneeded technological breakthrough will remain a pipe dream unless the abuse
ofthe expatriate rule is stopped.
The General
Secretaryof Food, Beverage and Tobacco Senior Staff Association (FOBSTA),
Abraham AdeOla-Joseph, has also called on the authorities to check the inflow
of foreignengineers.
The development
isworrisome because �very soon over 100,000 Nigerians currently earning aliving
through the sector would be thrown back into the already fullunemployment
market�, he stated.
He said whenever
thereis a problem with equipment, the foreigners hire Nigerians as contractors
andpay them peanuts� to effect repair.
Ola-Joseph blamed
thesituation on the lack of transparency by government officials who
handleexpatriate quotas.
Early this
year,PENGASSAN petitioned some oil companies and accused them of abusing
theirallocation of foreign workers. Investigation into the allegation was taken
over by the presidency.
However, NIS
LagosPublic Relations Officer Ekpedeme King stressed on Tuesday that the
process ofissuing a foreigner with an expatriate status is complex and involves
moregovernment agencies, besides the NIS.
He absolved the NIS
ofany deliberate misconduct �because we only certify what the Ministry of
External Affairs andthe citizenship and service chief department of the Federal
Ministry ofInternal Affairs would have confirmed�.
The NIS is �careful and dutiful� in carrying outthe task,
considering its sensitivity, he said.
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