The Ministry of Interior announced that it had exceeded its budgeted revenue target for the issuance of expatriate quotas in the 2023 fiscal year. From January to October this year, it generated N1.195 billion, surpassing the initial target of N600 million.
Yesterday, in Abuja, during the budget defense session with the joint Senate and House of Representatives Committee on Interior, the Minister of the Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, highlighted that in the outgoing fiscal years of 2022 and 2023, the ministry surpassed its budgeted revenue projections for expatriate quotas and marriage.
Addressing the committee, Tunji-Ojo stated that in 2023, while the targeted revenue from the issuance of expatriate quotas to deserving foreign firms was set at N600 million, the ministry had already generated N1.195 billion as of October 31, 2023.
He said: “Aside the projected revenue from expatriate quotas that had been surpassed by about N600m extra, the N380million projected revenue from marriage, has also been surpassed by over N500million with N892.774million realized as at October 31, 2023.
“The National Assembly, which through its joint committee of the Senate and House of Representatives on Interior took up the ministry on issuance of the expatriate quotas, said that it served as the avenue for stealing jobs from Nigerians in Nigeria by expatriates.
In his reply, the Minister assured the committee members that the ministry has devised a project to protect jobs for Nigerians. This project, known as the Expatriate Employee Network (EEN), is primarily designed to prevent the usurpation of jobs meant for Nigerians by expatriates. Additionally, it aims to deter expatriate workers from evading tax payments in Nigeria.