President Bola Ahmed Tinubu continues to assure Nigerians that the economic situation will improve, and pains will give way to prosperity. Urging citizens yesterday not to despair in a speech during the unveiling of the handbook on Expatriate Employment Levy (EEL) in State House, he said: “We must assure Nigerians that there is light at the end of the tunnel. We might be going through a difficult period now, but when you look at the Infrastructure Concession
Regulatory Commission, the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, and people manning the ship of this country, including the Central Bank of Nigeria (governor), they have collaborated and in the spirit of development and progress, we are glad that good effort is being made to retool, re-engineer the finances of the country and make growth our hallmark.” In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, the President lauded the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, for the various progressive innovations he introduced, saying they have received applause at home and abroad.
President Tinubu, who described the EEL scheme as another game changer, highlighted its advantages. These include better employment opportunities for Nigerians with foreign companies, bridging the wage gap between Nigerian employees and expatriates in foreign companies operating in Nigeria, and boosting national security. President Tinubu, however, warned operators saying, “I declare my support for the Expatriate Employment Levy scheme, and I will continue to encourage the operators, practitioners of immigration matters and expatriate quotas. But don’t use it as a bottleneck, don’t use it to frustrate potential investors.
There will be clear lines of implementation and effective acceleration of the aims and objectives of this programme. Immigration matters and expatriate quotas, and relevant stakeholders, must be effectively guided to make Nigeria the focus of the objective of this EEL.”
