The Federal Government through the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has stated that it approved 1,417 of the 1,603 expatriate quota applications it processed recently.
A total of 186 expatriate quotas were rejected on account of non-compliance to the rules of the country’s oil and gas industry.
An expatriate quota is a government-issued permit allowing companies to hire foreign workers for specific roles in Nigeria.
The Nigerian government sets a limit on the number of expatriates companies can employ, typically 5% of the total workforce, to ensure locals are prioritized.
Companies must demonstrate that the required skills aren’t available locally and provide training plans to transfer skills to Nigerians. The NCDMB regulates this process, approving or rejecting quota requests to boost local participation in industries like oil and gas.
Although the approved quota would generate 13,833 employment commitments, the Board warned that companies must obtain NCDMB’s approval before approaching the Federal Ministry of Interior.
“Anything outside that process is a contravention of the law,” the Supervisor, Planning, Research and Statistics Directorate, Mr. Emmanuel Paulker, NCDMB said.
He spoke at the NCDMB Sensitisation Workshop for Midstream Companies and Stakeholders, held on Friday in Lagos, where he also hinted that the NOGIC JQS portal had registered 406,000 individuals and 11,445 companies, including 115 operators, though much of the midstream sector remains outside the system.
Speaking earlier, the Acting Director of Monitoring and Evaluation, NCDMB, Mr. Omomehin Ajimijaye enjoined operators in the midstream segment of the oil and gas industry to comply with the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act 2010, or risk attracting sanctions, including project withdrawal, suspension and criminal prosecution.
He also reaffirmed that obtaining the Nigerian Content Equipment Certificates (NCEC) atracts zero processing fees, and it had banned the use of middlemen in all its transactions and confirmed that expired or misapplied NCECs will lead to automatic disqualification from tenders.
“Today’s workshop is one of the key platforms for deepening engagement with the midstream sector. We are not focused only on the upstream sector. We are also doing our best to ensure that our midstream and downstream stakeholders are carried along in the quest for Nigerian content value expansion, and for the economic progress and energy security of our country,” he said.
Ajimijaye outlined four objectives of the engagement: deepening understanding of the NOGICD Act; clarifying statutory reporting templates; addressing midstream-specific compliance challenges; and strengthening collaboration between the Board and industry players.
“Your feedback is crucial as we move towards our collective goal of raising Nigerian content to 70 per cent. This journey requires partnership and mutual understanding,” Ajimijaye added.
The Director of Capacity Building, Engr. Abayomi Bamidele, said, “The Act mandates all operators and contractors to prioritise Nigerian employment and training,” noting that any project or contract valued at $1m and above must submit an Employment and Training Plan for Board approval.”