News
FG Fortifies Expatriate Quota to Protect Local Jobs
Mr. Abba Moro, minister of Interior has said the federal government commenced a reformation of the 1963 Nigerian Immigration Act which prohibits an employer from employing foreigners provided there is a suitable Nigerian for the job.
The reform is expected to fortify the Expatriate Quota Act and also put in place a proper administrator which will monitor compliance to the Act
Moro stated this in Lagos while delivering the keynote address titled, ‘Expatriate Quota Administration in Nigeria: Challenges and Prospects’, at a workshop on expatriate quota.
He expressed worries at the abuse of various immigration laws such as trading and non-utilisation of EQPs, foreign exchange leaching, forgery and fake EQPs and other documents, warehousing of files, non-compliance with understudy policy to ensure transfer of technology.
According to him, the ministry had resorted to automation to improve functionality and service delivery of the Ministry’s Citizenship and Business Department.
He said the guiding principles of the extant expatriate quota administration were still the Indigenisation laws which had been repealed by the NIPC Act of 1990 in line with global trends.
The minister also noted that the advent of globalisation, movement of human and material resources in the age of knowledge economy has made the exchange of skills and knowledge undeniable.
It would be recalled that the federal government had in June this year approved new visa and expatriate quota policy that will see to easing the entrance into the country of investors and tourists with a policy of granting visas at entry points for such categories.
Under the new initiative visas would now be granted at points of entry at international airports for those who have genuine cause to visit the country in conformity to the changing dynamics of international travel, investments and economic gains.
Moro had explained that the policy which will come with the automation of the business office of the Ministry of Interior will see to the electronic checking of the abuses which expatriate quota have been subjected to in the past.
He stated that apart from the provision which makes it mandatory for two Nigerians to be attached to every expatriate that works in Nigeria, there were provisions and expectations that for certain category of threshold of every investor, they will employ a certain number of Nigerians to build capacity and at the same time, create employment.
EFCC
The African Development Bank Group last week approved an investment of €6.5 million in the Saviu II fund in order to support technology start-ups through their seed phase and first institutional fundraising, mainly in French-speaking Central and West Africa.
The Bank will invest €4.5 million as equity and €2 million as a first-loss hedging tranche on behalf of the European Commission, under the Boost Africa Programme.
This participation of the Bank Group will enable the Saviu II fund to give priority to companies with a strong technological or digital component.
Saviu II, the second investment vehicle of Saviu Partners, plans to invest between €500,000 and €3 million in about 20 technology or technology-oriented business-to-business start-ups in the seed phase or carrying out first institutional fundraising.
The Saviu II venture capital fund aims to make at least 60% of its commitments in the French-speaking countries of West and Central Africa: Côte d ‘Ivoire, Cameroon, Benin, Senegal, Togo, Burkina Faso and Mali.
The fund can also co-invest in promising technology companies in East Africa that have a strong team and business model, and whose strategy includes entering the market in French-speaking West African countries and establishing a strong presence there.
In addition, the fund will devote a dedicated envelope to pre-seed investments, focusing on minority equity investments, usually in co-investment with studios, incubators or other ecosystem partners.
Nigerian Government has signed a $1.3 billion Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) via the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF) to fund an alumina refinery, national geoscience mapping, and a strategic investment vehicle for mining growth.
Special Assistant to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Segun Tomori, said the refinery will process one million tonnes of bauxite yearly using a modern Bayer process, powered by an on-site gas-fired cogeneration plant.
Minister Dele Alake called it a transformative milestone boosting GDP, aligning with reforms that improve investment climate, regulations, and licensing to attract private capital. He directed agencies to fast-track permits.
The 20-year project at 95% utilization eyes 19 million tonnes total output, $1.2 billion annual GDP addition, $25 billion economic impact, and $8 billion forex earnings, per feasibility studies.
SMDF Executive Secretary Fatima Shinkafi termed it the agency’s biggest funding deal, supporting value-addition policy.
The partnership extends to geoscience mapping for mineral data, de-risking exploration, and a joint vehicle for mining assets.
Permanent Secretary Engr. Farouk Yabo praised the reforms. Shinkafi signed for government; AFC’s Franklin Edochie for the corporation, witnessed by AFC CEO Samaila Zubairu.
Tomori positioned it as Nigeria’s largest private mining investment and FDI magnet.
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