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Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has charged the management of the Indorama Petrochemicals and Fertilizer Limited, Port Harcourt, to create a clear career path for their Nigerian staff through promotion, upgrade, conversion and advancement in their chosen fields.
Ogbeni Aregbesola made the remarks on Monday when he paid a working visit to the industrial complex. The Minister was guided round the complex, seeing the control room, the bagging and loading sections and the product display room.
Speaking at the end of the tour, the Minister noted that he was impressed with the level of investment and expansion of the company, commending the management for their contribution to the development of the Nigerian economy. He however stated that Indorama needed to do more in employing more Nigerians to work at the facility.
“If I was the Minister of Trade and Investment, perhaps, I would have applauded you and left this place, as the level of investment is quite commendable, but my role as Minister of Interior requires me to speak on the area that concerns me and which is paramount.
“You need to improve on the number of Nigerians in your employment. Of course, this is beyond the two-understudy required for each expatriate quota allocation.
“Beyond that, a clear path of progression must be created for staff who are already employed. If that is done and all laid down procedures are followed, the Ministry of Interior will continue to deliver on its mandate of ensuring businesses and other interested corporate organizations get all required documentations,” Ogbeni Aregbesola stated.
Earlier, the Managing Director of the company, Mr. Manish Mundra, who led top management of the company to receive the Minister stated that the aim of the firm is to make Nigeria the largest petrochemical hub in Africa.
“We have over 700 companies in Nigeria sourcing their raw materials from our company. Beyond that, we restarted exporting in 2016 to ECOWAS countries, South Africa, Latin and North America. Our total export currently stands at two million tonnes per annum.
“At the moment, our staff include 155 expatriates and 1,055 Nigerians for the petrochemical plans alone. At the fertilizer plants, we have 177 expatriates and another 1,177 Nigerians in our employ”.
Mr. Mundra assured the Minister that Indorama will continue to abide by all regulatory procedures laid down by both the national and sub-national authorities.
Other members of Indorama management that received the minister include the CEO of Indorama Fertilizer, Munish Jindal and Dr Jossy Nkwocha, Head Corporate Communications and Special Adviser to the Managing Director.
The Minister was accompanied on the trip by the Director, Citizen and Business Department of the Ministry, Barr. (Mrs.) Soyinka Moremi-Onijala, Chairman, Ministerial Task Force on Expatriate Quota and Business Permit Administration, Hon. Bola Ilori, Mr. Akin M. Adesina, Deputy Director, Inspection and Investigations amongst others.