President of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) Comrade Engineer Festus Osifo, has alleged that Indians are manipulating the nation’s oil & gas sector to take over low-level jobs in blatant abuse of the expatriate quota system.
Osifo, who made the disclosure at the closing of the 3rd edition of the PENGASSAN Energy and Labour Summit in Abuja, said the increasing dominance of expatriates, particularly Indian nationals in the oil & gas sector was alarming, and is unacceptable.
He criticised the practice of expatriates filling low-level positions, which he described as a “blatant abuse” of the expatriate quota system.
The three-day event, which was held in Abuja, focused on the theme ‘The Future of Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Industry: Energy Mix, Energy Security, Artificial Intelligence, Divestment, and Crude Oil Theft’.
He said: “They are taking over low-level jobs, which is a blatant abuse of the expatriate quota system
“In Sterling Oil Indorama today, it will amaze you to discover that we have more Indians working there compared to the number of Nigerians.
“In fact, up to vulcanizers, you have Indians carrying out such low jobs and functions in all their plants as operators and some are even gatekeeping operators”.
According to him, the union has been engaging the Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board (NCDMB) to address the issue but to no avail.
Nigerians are looking for jobs, and our graduates who are out of the universities are looking for work to do, he lamented
“But we keep granting expatriate quota to these Indian companies and they have abused it,” he said.
He alleged that the companies have manipulated the system by registering numerous companies to facilitate the influx of expatriates.
“When they are bringing in 10 Indians, they will use one company. Tomorrow, when they are bringing in another 20, they will use another company.
“So, if you check, you will discover that over 100 or 200 companies registered spread these Indians across the board,” Osifo said.
He said that PENGASSAN had engaged in extensive stakeholder discussions over the past two years to address the issue without result.
“What is left for us might probably be a confrontation. We are fully prepared because we cannot be slaves in Nigeria.
“Nigeria’s oil resources belong to Nigerians and it should benefit them first and foremost. It doesn’t belong to Sterling or any other,” he said.
Osifo said that the number of Indian nationals employed at Indorama’s facilities in Port Harcourt surpasses that of Nigerians.
He said they are paid in U.S. dollars while Nigerian workers grappled with the effects of currency devaluation.
“This situation is unacceptable and must be addressed now,” Osifo said.
He urged authorities concerned to take decisive action against companies exploiting the expatriate quota system to the detriment of Nigerian workers.
Osifo, who criticised the government’s failure to address the issue despite repeated engagements, warned that PENGASSAN might resort to confrontation if Nigerian workers’ rights continue to be undermined.
He, however, called on the Federal Government to act fast and to protect Nigerian workers’ rights and opportunities.
Source: Independent
