No fewer than 549 temporary work permit applications by expatriates have been granted by the Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board.

The applications were granted in the first three quarters of 2024, according to the board?s stakeholders? magazine, which was obtained by our correspondent on Saturday in Abuja.

A total of 43 applications were, however, rejected by the board during the period.

The document revealed that 311 permit requests were approved in Q1, with 32 denied; 72 approvals were granted in Q2, and three were denied; while 164 temporary work permits were approved in Q3, and eight were declined.

It also noted that the jobs of 184 expatriates are now being handled by Nigerians in the upstream segment and one job in the midstream within the period.

Similarly, 33 sanctions and violations were issued to companies operating in the three segments of the oil sector.

?Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 68 of the Act, any stakeholder in the Industry; including companies providing service(s) or intending to provide service(s) would be deemed to have committed a breach if it employs or cause to employ any expatriate staff either on permanent or temporary position(s) in the oil and gas industry outside of the procedures specified in this guideline.

?The Board would require immediate removal of such expatriate(s) and penalise the company in line with the provisions of the Act,? the guidelines state.

The report highlights the NCDMB?s continued commitment to boosting indigenous participation in the oil and gas industry, ensuring that foreign expertise complements rather than replaces local talent.

It also comes amid agitations by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria which threatened to withdraw all its members from every upstream operation nationwide if Sterling Oil Exploration and Energy Production Company failed to immediately address the ongoing labour issues.

The association also stated that the Federal Government must remove the 10,699 Indian expatriates working with the firm in 15 locations in the oil and gas industry.

Although the NCDMB, in a statement on Monday, pledged to investigate the matter, a closer examination of the approved temporary work permits revealed a significant disparity between the number of applications seeking official permission to bring in expatriates and the actual number of expatriates earning a living in Nigeria, at the expense of increasing Indigenous participation in the sector.

At a press briefing on Wednesday, the NCDMB Executive Secretary, Felix Ogbe, said local content in the petroleum industry had reached 56 per cent, with ongoing reviews likely to further enhance this figure.

Ogbe said Nigeria must retain more value from its oil sector by increasing local investment and strengthening indigenous capacity.

He said, ?We are glad to mention that with our efforts, the level of local content in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria has reached 56 per cent as of the last count we had. The review is ongoing right now to enable us to determine where we are in terms of the percentage of local content we have achieved up to date. So the last count is 56 per cent of local value created. (Sunday PUNCH)

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