A group known as Movement of Intellectuals for National Development (MIND), on Friday, urged the Senate to collaborate with the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment to review the employment process of Total Energies and ensure decent work conditions for Nigerian staff.
The national think tank group also demanded a probe over an alleged maltreatment of Nigerian workers at Total Energies.
In the petition copied to the Minister of Petroleum Resources (Oil), MIND prayed the Senate, through the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions, to direct the NCDMB to investigate these alleged breaches of the NOGID Act and apply corrective and punitive action where applicable.
The petition also urged the Senate to direct the Federal Ministry of Interior (Citizenship and Business Department) to ensure strict compliance with expatriate quota approval and mandatory knowledge transfer requirements.
It also implored the Senate to urge the Nigerian Immigration Service to clarify the immigration and work permits of the affected expatriates and enforce full compliance with immigration laws.
The petition also urged the Senate to enforce the requirement of NCDMB to issue a formal letter of no objection before the approval of any expatriate quota for oil and gas operations, and ensure that all positions to be held by Nigerians are immediately held by Nigerians.
Warekomo maintained that MIND remains committed to national progress and would continue to expose practises that undermine Nigeria’s development to ensure that timely corrective actions are taken to build a just and prosperous nation.
MIND Western coordinator, Ebi Warekromo, in a petition to the Nigerian Senate, alleged several breaches of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGID) Act at TotalEnergies.
Warekomo, who disclosed that the petition was a fallout of a letter obtained from the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), expressed disappointment that all issues raised by the latter in a letter to the Management have been ignored.
He alleged unethical conduct, excessive and unjustified influx of expatriates in violation of Nigerian Local Content laws, and associated security concerns as issues that should be investigated.
Specifically, the petition alleged that one of the expatriates reportedly completed his biometric registration with the Nigerian Content Monitoring Development Board (NCDMB), two years after already working in Nigeria, a clear violation of the NOGID Act, which mandates that companies obtain prior approval before applying for expatriate visas or work permits through the Federal Ministry of Interior.
According to the petition, expatriates continue to occupy positions such as those of Contract, Procurement, and Nigerian Content, a role statutorily supposed to be occupied by a qualified Nigerian professional.
Furthermore, Warekomo pointed out that some of the expatriates who have completed their assignment in the company remain in Nigeria in flagrant violation of Nigerianisation and succession provisions of the NOGID Act.
Also, the petition submitted that Nigerian companies with demonstrable capacity and track records were overlooked during the award of contracts, contrary to provisions of the NOGID Act.
Warekomo declared that the several breaches of the violations of the NOGID Act have far-reaching implications, including institutional ridicule and marginalisation of Nigerian professionals, financial loss and career stagnation of Nigerian staff, denial of employment and labour rights, among others.
