Nigeria loses $10billion annually to expatriates, says NIW
- Nigeria loses over $10 billion every year to expatriates who have taken over the welding and engineering sector
- This was revealed by the Nigerian Institute of Welding (NIW), who says the expatriates have taken over the sector from local professionals
- The institute demanded immediate government’s intervention, adding that such intervention should be quick
The Nigerian Institute of Welding (NIW) has revealed that Nigeria loses over $10 billion every year to expatriates who have taken over the welding and engineering sector from local professionals.
President of NIW, Solomon Edebiri, who stated this during an interaction with journalists in Abuja, lamented how foreign welding engineers from Philippine, China, Brazil, India and others have hijacked the sector.
He demanded immediate government’s intervention,adding that such intervention should be quick considering how 80 percent of everything in our environment is made of steel.
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According to him, the capability of welding in this country is too low to the extent that Nigeria still import so much iron and steel including professionals who are supposed to handle the sector.
His words: “We lose over $10 billion annually in capital flight. When you bring these expatriates into the country, what do they do? You pay them in dollars to their home countries, you pay them in naira for their local consumption.
“The money they take, is like twenty times what the Nigerians will take to do the job. So why don’t we build capacity here and let the people who are in Nigeria take charge of the job, that is what we are saying. If government does not step in, we will have a problem.
“The capability and capacity of welding in this country is low to the extent that we still bring people into the country from Philippine, from China, from India, Brazil and all over Europe to come and weld in Nigeria.
“Welding engineers are not recognized in Nigeria. So, at the end of the day, we need a serious government intervention, to develop capability and develop capacity of the sector. Now, that is the only reason why we can take charge of our welding activities, our industrialisation can completely be localised.”
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Meanwhile, Mr. Peter Obi, vice-presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has predicted doom for Nigeria if President Muhammadu Buhari continues in office.
Obi made the projection while making reference to the 2019 budget President Buhari presented to the National Assembly on Wednesday, December 19.
According to Obi, the Nigerian economy will keep “bleeding” if President Muhammadu Buhari is reelected in office.
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