Telecom firm, ZTe flouts Immigration laws

.Has about 60 per cent expatriates with questionable business visas

.It is mere allegation that needs to be proved, says company

Nigerian Immigration Services (NIS) has been called upon to focus its searchlight on some foreign companies, some of which have been alleged to abuse Nigeria’s immigration laws on employment of foreigners to work in the country.

A source who spoke to The Daily Times on condition of anonymity, alleged that a telecom company, ZTe Nigeria Limited among others, have on their employ, foreign nationals who entered the country with business visas and neither qualified to take up employment, nor have permits to work in Nigeria.

While calling on the Nigeria Immigration Services to step up surveillance on how foreign citizens with mere visit, or business visas end up taking highly paid employments in the country, stakeholders called on the company to
reverse the ongoing trend in the firm.

The source further alleged that the Ikoyi Lagos- based firm currently has very high concentration of foreign nationals, having displaced about 70 percent of Nigerians on its employment.

The expatriates working within this organisation are on business visas issued by the Nigerian government. However, approximately 60 percent of these visas are understood to have expired and these foreign nationals since their arrival in the country, started working without valid work permits, the source alleged.

Laws of Nigeria relating to employment of foreign nationals clearly prohibit employment of foreigners in the country without valid work permits.

The source further alleged that over 70 per cent foreign nationals from Asia are currently in paid employment at the firm. It was further alleged that the foreigners who have no work permits, may not be subjected to ancillary taxes (P.A.Y.E etal) being paid to the government of Nigeria, hence the company is not subjected to full disclosure by either the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

The source, further alleged that the company is being aided by some highly placed Nigerians to execute such practices and evade sanctions.

While all attempts to reach Mr. Olajide Samuel, of ZTe Nigeria, for the company’s reaction, before going to press, proved abortive, The Daily Times headed to the company’s office at Osborne offshore Estate Ikoyi where the company still declined to provide information on the alleged issues.

Findings revealed that the company occupies three blocks 18, 20 and a further block for the company’s PR.
At the No 20 Udi Street on Tuesday 30, May 2017, by 10.25 am, the security men at the company’s gate could not provide the name of any of their managers, hence one of them said: “All the managers here are China people and I don’t know their names.”

The guard who signed in our correspondent with visitor tag number 000032, revealed that both the higher managers and lower managers in the company are all foreigners and therefore did not even know the name of one of them.

However, the 12 foreign workers seen in the compound, could not provide any viable information as one of them opened door for our correspondent to enter the office building.

Inside the office, the attendant who doubles as the receptionist identified herself simply as Chichi, could not either provide any information, but later summoned Mr. Tayo Aina, of the company’s HR department.

Aina counselled that the company does not react to issues just like that and that all inquiries should be mailed to them, to provide answers. He directed our reporter to the PR office further down the road but later provided a contact to direct the questions to.

However, Mr. Akindobe Oluwafemi, the company’s Public Relation Officer, who spoke to The Daily Times on the telephone, refused to react to the issues. He first said that he will be travelling to Abuja from Lagos later in the day, but on a second call said that he is in Abuja and will return to Lagos at the weekend.

Oluwafemi first gave a condition for reacting to the issues. He demanded to know who gave our correspondent his contact and why the story must be reported.

He, however, denied knowledge of Mr Tayo Aina, who was supposed to be his colleague in the office, indicating that he may be on contract with the company.

The company’s public relations manager, who remained evasive all through, said: “I don’t know him. I am also a journalist, please use alleged in your story. There are rules to the game. If you think you cannot wait, you can go ahead and do your story. All these are allegations, I will come to your office at Ogba (sic) when I return to Lagos.”