The Federal Government on Thursday said it would soon clamp down on illegal immigrants in the country.
The government statement was in reaction to the deportation of 723 Nigerians by the Ghana Immigration Service.
The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, who said this at the BRF Gabfest 2 programme with the theme, ‘Where Are The Jobs’, in Lagos, lamented the inhuman treatment of Nigerians abroad, saying the country also had laws to deport illegal immigrants.
He said there was an ongoing audit of workers on many construction sites in the country to ascertain how many ECOWAS citizens were working in the sites, noting that although they did not need a visa to come into the country, they needed work permits.
Fashola added, “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.’’
Fashola said the President had issued Executive Order 5 to get jobs for Nigerian youths.
He said, “What Executive Order 5 seeks to achieve is that anytime our economy produces opportunity, we must ensure that if Nigerians are able to do that job, we should give them preference.’’