Nigerians are taking over expatriates’ jobs in oil & gas sector – Petroleum Minister

Nigerians are taking over expatriates jobs in the Oil and Gas sector, as the latter have not returned to Nigeria after the lockdown was eased and international flights were allowed into the country.

This was disclosed by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, during an interview on ChannelsTV on Monday.

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According to the Minister, the Coronavirus pandemic has created several opportunities, as he explained that the development has given Nigerians the chance to be engaged with jobs that the expatriates would have done.

He said: “COVID-19 has allowed our people to be more engaged. At the beginning of the lockdown, expatriates left Nigeria as they had to return to their countries and they have not returned till now. That means Nigerians have to step in their shoes. Since then a lot of Nigerians are more engaged in the decision making in the sector.”

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What you should know

• A significant number of expatriates in Nigeria pre-covid oversaw some of the country’s biggest companies. They played such roles as Chief Executive Officers, Chief Operating Officers, Chief Financial Officers, and more. Interestingly, they are not all Europeans and Americans.
• Nairametrics stated in one of its earlier reports that there are two main reasons these foreigners are hired to lead Nigeria’s biggest corporations.
• The first reason is the fact that a significant number of Nigeria’s big corporations have foreign entities as majority shareholders. In view of this, it is understandable when the owners of such companies bring in their people to better represent their interests.
• The second reason is the fact that foreign nationals (especially those from Europe and North America) are often thought to possess better expertise than their Nigerian counterparts. As such, they are treasured, even as they get to earn quite a lot of money in executive compensation.