Develop standard operating procedure now, licenced recruiters tell FG

Following a ban on their activities based on a directive from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity in 2018, instructing all licensed international recruiting companies to stop their operations because the government is trying to curb human traffickers parading themselves as international recruiters, licensed recruiters on Tuesday asked government to as a matter of urgency, develop the long-overdue Standard Operating Procedure so they can return to work.

Speaking on the continued suspension of its operations by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 2018, the Licensed Recruiters Association of Nigeria, the association is compelled to speak out after repeated efforts to get the Nigerian government to lift the suspension it placed on their operations three years ago failed to produce the desired result.

Speaking on behalf of the association, Rex Bamidele Jacob, the acting chairman, stated that they are a group of professionals that recruit skilled manpower for international organisations as well as governments of foreign countries in need of skilled professionals from Nigeria, adding that they are licensed by the Nigerian government through the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment.

According to him, “in the course of our operations that spanned over five years, we have helped over one thousand Nigerians secure well-paying employments in several countries. Before our operations were abruptly stopped for no fault of ours, we proudly contributed to the reduction of unemployment in the country. In March 2018, the Federal Government of Nigeria as a follow-up to this action sent a delegation to the Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia to investigate the companies and/or individuals that were involved in the illicit act. Not unexpectedly, none of our members or registered companies was found culpable in the illicit act.

“While hoping that the Federal Government would lift the ban it placed on our activities, we have been left in some sort of limbo. The assurance that our operations would be restored after all stakeholders develop a Standard Operation Procedure has remained a pipe dream. As law-abiding individuals and organizations, we have suspended our operations since 2018 in deference to the government’s directive. But while we have remained law-abiding, the unlicensed recruiters whose activities in the first place led to the ban placed on us have continued their illicit activities, including trafficking persons under the guise of recruiter them for international jobs.

“We find it ironic that our activities as licensed operators have been put on hold while illegal persons who have been tarnishing the image of the country through their nefarious activities have been left to operate. Apart from the huge loss the ban on our activities has caused the country through payment of taxes and other remittances that would have accrued to the country, members of our associations have continued to incur huge bills because we still pay rent on our offices, maintain our staff in order not to add to the unemployment in the country,” he said.

The association consequently appealed to the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency, develop its long-overdue Standard Operating Procedure so that members of the association can return to work, adding that “we find it curious that at a time when all hands are expected to be on deck to fight unemployment in the country; legitimate employers of labour like us are being hampered by bureaucratic bottlenecks. If the government is serious in fishing out human trackers parading as international recruiters, there is no better way to do this than work with licensed operators like us whose members are known and can be easily accessed.

“We believe that the Federal Government of Nigeria through its relevant ministries will lift the embargo placed on our activities so that the country and indeed its citizens will benefit from the huge opportunities our activities offer,” the association said.

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