26 December 2011, Sweetcrude, MANILA — Philipines has lifted a ban on the deployment of its nationales to Nigeria as oil workers effective January 1, 2012.
The ban was imposed following the series of kidnappings of Filipino seafarers in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region from 2006 to 2009.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) recommended the lifting of the ban after noting the improved security situation in the Niger Delta.
“We have reviewed the overall security situation in Nigeria and have concluded that the insurgency in the Niger Delta has been properly addressed,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said in a letter to Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz.
“No more kidnapping incidents have occurred and Nigeria has become a vibrant democracy with a thriving economy. According to our ambassador in Nigeria, 5,000 jobs in the oil, gas and construction industries awaiting our OFWs in Nigeria,” he added.
There are 7,240 Filipinos in Nigeria, most of them professionals and Filipino nationals married to Nigerians. A number of them have expressed desire to have the ban lifted.
