The ministry of interior says it generated N1.195 billion as revenue from January to October, surpassing its budgetary target of N600 million for 2023.

Olubunmi Tunji, the minister of interior, stated this at the budget defence session of the joint National Assembly Committee on Interior.

“Aside from the projected revenue from expatriate quotas that had been surpassed by about N600 million extra, the N380 million projected revenue from marriage has also been surpassed by over N500 million with N892.774 million realised as of Oct. 31.”

The chairman of the committee, Sen. Adams Oshiomhole, said that although it was heartwarming to hear that the ministry had surpassed its revenue targets on the issuance of expatriates quotas, the policy had given room for expatriates to steal jobs meant for Nigerians in Nigeria.

“Your ministry needs to regulate the issuance of the quotas very well as I have on good authority that prisoners from foreign lands are working in Nigeria as construction workers.

“This is even different from the age-long fraud the oil companies have been carrying out in the country through the policy of expatriate quotas by making our own qualified engineers work under foreign technicians.

“Many non-Nigerians are in the country, some of them live inside containers. I even believe and dare say it that there are foreign prisoners who are working in Nigeria,” he said.

Responding, Mr Tunji said that the ministry had already designed a programme for job protection for Nigerians.

He said that the programme was named Expatriate Employee Network (EEN), which was aimed at safeguarding jobs meant for Nigerians from being stolen by expatriates.

“And also prevent expatriate workers from evading tax payment in Nigeria,” he said.

(NAN)