The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola SAN, has said that Ghana was within its right to deport any Nigerian or other national that violates its immigration laws.
However, he said that Nigeria also has the same right and would exercise it soon to weed out illegal immigrants in the country.
The minister made the disclosure at the second edition of the annual BRF GABFEST organised by some youths to honour him in Lagos, while reacting to news reports that Ghana Immigration Service deported 723 Nigerians.
Fashola said, “Ghana deported some Nigerians. It is the right that every country has. It is a right we have never exercised. But we are going to exercise it now. If you want to work in Nigeria, the same regulation that applies in your country that you must get a work permit also applies here.’’
Speaking on the theme of the programme, We Are The Jobs”, Fashola said that the President had issued Executive Order 5 to give preference to local engineering companies in the award of contracts in the country.
The order is to grant priority to local companies on projects to the tune of 7.5 per cent, except in the absence of local engineers that could not execute the projects before international expertise could be engaged.
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According to him, a council for the enforcement of the order which seeks the prosperity of Nigerians has been set up.
“The president has issued an executive order called Executive Order number 5.
“What the order seeks to achieve essentially is that anytime our economy produces opportunities, we must ensure that if Nigerians are able to do that job, we give them preference.
“And it does not matter whether the loan is coming from China or India or from Kaura Namoda.
“The truth is that loan is a contract to borrow money which we will pay back;it is not a contract to sign away our sovereignty.”
He said the council for the enforcement of the Executive Order 5 had him, (Fashola) as a member and Ogbonaya Onu, the Minister for Science and Technology as the Chairman.
“Some of the quick things we decided to do first is that, in my own department, we are going to audit all our construction sites.
“On all our construction sites, we started audit and we want to find out how many ECOWAS citizens are working here.
“If you are an ECOWAS citizen, you do not need a visa but you need a work permit.
“We heard that Ghana supposedly deported some of our people, it is a right that every country has, if you violate their immigration laws.
“It is a right we have never exercised and we are going to exercise it now,’’ he said.