•Targets construction, oil/gas, telecoms, manufacturing, hospitality
The President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration is rolling out a new policy on expatriate quota that will ensure that Nigerians have better employment opportunities in companies operating in the country.
Companies to focus on to implement the employment deal, are wholly foreign, joint ventures and indigenous companies engaing the services of expatriates.
These companies, are spread across sectors like construction, oil and gas, telecoms, manufacturing, and hospitality among others.
Nigerian professionals are expected to be absorbed into them to take jobs for which they are qualified in line with terms and conditions of the expatriate quota-enabled employment opportunities.
The policy, which details will soon be made known to the public will be implemented by the Ministry of Interior, in concert with the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS). Authoritative sources say it will come with a robust private partnership component to ensure a seamless execution of the policy.
The process leading to the take-off of the policy and the processes thereafter, it was revealed would not cost the Federal Government any money. An official of the Ministry who hinted on the policy said its was specifically targeted at over 150,000 expatriates working in the country at the moment, adding that “as the number grows over time, they will be accommodated in the revenue-generation net.”
While keeping specific details of the forthcoming policy close to his chest, the source said the projection was that Nigeria, in the next twenty years, would have been well positioned to consistently attract about $1.5 billion annually from expatriates working in the country.
This revenue inflow is apart from the Personal Income Tax prescribed by the Personal Income Tax Act (PITA) cap P8 LFN, 2007, as amended, which forms the legal basis for taxation of employment income, including those earned by expatriates working in Nigeria.
The source further volunteered that the revenue could be more in the event that the companies failed to absorb qualified Nigerians into the particular jobs allotted to them (citizens). Such defaulting companies would be required to pay some prescribed levy in penalties.