Minister of Interior, 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.
Sola Fasure, Media Adviser to the Minister of Interior, said, in a statement made available to Daily Trust on Tuesday, that Aregbesola made the remarks on Monday when he paid a working visit to the industrial complex.
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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 its 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 organisations get all required documentation,” 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 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 would continue to abide by all regulatory procedures laid down by both the national and sub-national authorities.
