The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Interior and representative of Edo North, Adams Oshiomhole, has raised concerns about the employment of foreign prisoners in construction projects across Nigeria.
Oshiomhole disclosed this during a budget defense session in the National Assembly Joint Committees on Interior, where the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, was present.
According to Oshiomhole, these foreign prisoners are reportedly engaged in construction work on various sites across the country and are receiving wages equivalent to the minimum wage in their respective countries.
He therefore called for immediate intervention to regulate the issuance of quotas to foreigners, emphasising the need for strict measures to prevent the exploitation of foreign labor in Nigeria.
During the session, Oshiomhole addressed the Minister of Interior, stating, “Your ministry needs to regulate the issuance of quotas very well as I have it on good authority that prisoners from foreign lands are working in Nigeria as construction workers. Many non-Nigerians are in the country, some of them live inside containers.
“They were being paid according to their country’s minimum wage by the construction industry that brought them. I don’t want to mention the companies’ names, but if I’m provoked, I’ll mention them.”
