Oil companies seeking expatriate quota approvals for their operations in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry must henceforth advertise the positions to Nigerians through national and international media outfits, the federal government has declared.
This submission was one of the action points adopted in a meeting between the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and the Federal Ministry of Interior (FMI) in their efforts to ensure efficient management of expatriate quota approvals and compliance with the Nigerian Content Act.
NCDMB and FMI also agreed, in a statement by the NCDMB public affairs officer, Obinna Ezeobi, to cooperate in data sharing on applications for expatriate quota, manpower development initiatives and creation of employment opportunities for Nigerians through effective management of expatriate quota approvals.
Section 32 of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act stipulates that for each of its operations, an operator or project promoter may retain a maximum of five per cent of management positions as may be approved by the Board as expatriate positions to take care of investor interests.
Section 33 of the NOGICD Act also mandates operators to apply and receive the approval of the Board before making any application for expatriate quota to the Ministry of Internal Affairs or any other agency of the Federal Government.
Speaking at the meeting, Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Engr. Ernest Nwapa explained that the Board is working closely with many private sector stakeholders, ministries and agencies of government towards the implementation of the Nigerian Content Act.
He explained that it is only through such collaborations that the aspiration of the Federal Government to use Nigerian Content Act to promote the development and utilisation of local capacity, create employment for Nigerians in the oil and gas industry and drive the development of other sectors of the economy will be realised.
According to the Executive Secretary, issues associated with expatriate quota are directly linked with human capacity development in the industry, hence companies operating in the industry and applying for expatriate quota must show that the skills sought for are not available in-country.
He also canvassed the need for a proactive management of human resources issues in the industry, to avoid the normal fire fighting approach to issues surrounding expatriate quota applications.
He added that the Board would soon begin to receive data on capacities of Nigerians residing in the country and in the Diaspora, which will be fed into the NOGICD Joint Qualification System.
When operational, it will be easy to query the NOGICD JQS to ascertain whether Nigerians possess the skills set being sought by any company, he added.
Nwapa clarified that NCDMB is not against the use of expatriate in the oil and gas industry as there is a compelling need for transfer of technology.
He however, noted that there is a need for companies to identify available positions that require expatriates, the number required by the industry, what they coming in to do and when they will depart.
