Expatriate employment levy will ruin investors’ confidence – MAN

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has revealed that 335 manufacturing companies became distressed while 767 shut down in 2023—that the newly introduced Expatriate Employment Levy (EEL) of $10,000 and $15,000 for staff and directors could worsen the situation in 2024. MAN warned that the EEL would certainly ruin the confidence President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was striving to build among domestic and foreign investors. The views were contained in a statement issued yesterday by the director-general of MAN, Mr Segun Ajayi-Kadir, titled, “MAN Expresses Grave Concerns over the Expatriate Employment Levy.” It described the latest levy as a “punitive levy,” which was already “being perceived as a punishment imposed on investors for daring to invest in Nigeria and on indigenous companies for employing needed foreign nationals”. The statement said EEL “is potentially an albatross to the realization of Mr President’s private sector-led economy aspirations and would certainly ruin the trust and confidence he is striving hard to build among domestic and foreign private investors.”