NCDMB and DPR Kick Against Abuse of Expatriate Quota

by James Ikenna……..,…

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and the Interior Ministry and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has kicked against the abuse of Expatriate quota by both the Multinational and indigenous oil oil companies in Nigeria.
They warned Oil And Gas Companies against the abuse of its expatriate quota on manpower particularly by the International Oil Companies.
DPR and NCDMB said Companies seeking to engage expatriates in the Nigerian oil and gas industry must obtain approvals from NCDMB before applying for expatriate quota.
Nigeria has a strict expatriate quota policy. But it had been discovered that oil and gas companies, which had been issued with statutory oil and gas industry service permits (SOGISP) to engage only Nigerian professionals, have started giving the permits to non-citizens.
“It is also disturbing that operators and major service providers promote this illegal practice by entering into contract agreements with these manpower supply companies to source expatriates for positions earmarked to be occupied by Nigerians,” said the joint statement by DPR and NCDMB.
“Companies seeking to engage expatriates in the Nigerian oil and gas industry must ensure that they obtain the relevant approvals from NCDMB before applying for expatriate quota, or other entry permits from the Ministry of Interior, the Nigeria Immigration Service or other agencies of government” NCDMB said.

The statement said, “The NCDMB will intensify its monitoring and evaluation activities to identify companies violating the statutory provisions of the DPR manpower supply permits and perpetuating illegal expatriate deployments, with a view to invoking appropriate sanctions and penaltie