President Bola Tinubu has launched the Expatriate Employment Levy (EEL) to facilitate home-grown skill retention and technology domestication and to balance employment opportunities between Nigerians and expatriates.

Speaking at the launch of the EEL handbook at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Tuesday, February 27, 2024, Tinubu also said the aim is to close wage gaps between expatriates and the Nigerian labour force while increasing employment opportunities for qualified Nigerians in foreign companies operating in the country.

The president, however, warned that the scheme should not be used as an impediment nor as a cudgel wielded to discourage foreign investors.

He said: “We expect improved revenue generation; improved naturalisation and indigenisation; we anticipate the employment of more qualified Nigerians by foreign companies operating in this country.

“We seek a greater balancing of employment opportunities between Nigerians and expatriates and the closure of the wage gap between expatriates and the Nigerian labour force by making it more attractive to hire Nigerians.

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“I declare my support for the Expatriate Employment Levy scheme, and I will continue to encourage the operators, practitioners of immigration matters and expatriate quotas, but I emphasise: do not use it as a bottleneck; do not use it as an obstacle to frustrate potential investors.

“There will be clear lines of implementation and effective acceleration of aims and objectives of this programme. Officials in charge of immigration matters, expatriate quotas, and relevant stakeholders have to be effectively guided to make Nigeria the focus of the objective of this EEL. Therefore, it is my honour to launch the handbook of the Expatriate Employment Levy.”

President Tinubu, according to a statement issued by his spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, further assured Nigerians that there is imminent light at the end of the tunnel as the country gradually turns the corner.

Speaking on the details of the initiative, the Minister of Interior, Bunmi Tunji-Ojo, said the project would be operated on a public-private partnership model between the federal government, the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), which is the implementing agency, and a technical partner, EEL Projects Limited.

The minister said: “It is worthy to mention that the project is aligned with the eight-point agenda of Mr President, especially on the issue of job security and economic growth. This project will, among other things, lead to technology domestication.

“The essence of this is to be sure that if you are bringing an expatriate to work in Nigeria, it should be a job that no Nigerian has the skill to do. That is the major objective of this particular initiative.”

The Star