Unemployment: FG places restriction on visa issuance to foreign engineers

AS part of its efforts to create jobs opportunities for Nigerians and promote local content, the Federal Government(FG) has placed restrictions on the issuance of visas to foreigners, seeking to take up engineering roles in Nigeria.

Also, it approved two key regulations for Nigeria’s engineering/construction sector, which are the Regulation on Licencing of Engineering Firms and Regulation on Construction Industry.

The President, Muhammadu Buhari made the disclosure in Abuja, at the 27th Engineering Assembly of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria.

Buhari, who was represented by the Minister of Water Resources, Engr. Suleiman Adamu said the restriction was enforced by the Ministry of Interior in compliance with Executive Order 5 which he signed recently.

While expressing the FG’s strong stance on the executive order, he said the government will ensure strict adherence to it.

His words: “I recently signed the Executive Order 5, which states that procuring authorities shall give preference to Nigerian companies and firms in the award of contracts, in line with the Public Procurement Act 2007.

“The implementation of this order has started and as expected some of its attendant benefits including the promotion of science, technology and innovation in several centres of the economy are beginning to manifest.

“Directly connected to these benefits is the fact that the Ministry of Interior has now restricted issuing visas to foreigners seeking to take up engineering roles in the country. Overall, the proclamation of Executive Order 5, meant to improve the local content and free up more jobs to Nigerians and give them increased access to procurement opportunities, is achieving its intended purpose.”

However, he noted that the absence of an up to date engineering curriculum in tertiary institutions in Nigeria to reflect the current global trend in engineering had drastically reduced the competitiveness of Nigerian engineers.

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“There is a disturbing gap between engineers trained in Nigeria and those trained abroad. Hence the need for universities to churn out quality and well-trained professionals,” he said.

Earlier, President, COREN, Kashim Ali, on the newly approved regulations stated that the rules were approved by the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, and would be implemented by the Council.

According to him, the regulation on licencing provides for the licencing of various companies, which include consulting engineering firms, engineering contracting firms, engineering manufacturing and production companies.

He said, “Let me at this point acknowledge the efforts of the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, for the approval of two vital regulations recently. These are the Regulation on Licencing of Engineering Firms and the Regulation on the Construction Industry.”