By Omotilewa Quadri
For allegedly coming into the country without proper documentation, the Senate has ordered the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), to deport Young Ho Jo, the Managing Director of Samsung back to South Korea.
The upper legislative chamber’s directive for deportation of Samsung Managing Director was announced on Thursday by its Chairman on Ad- hoc Committee probing the $16.35 billion Egina Oil Field Project, Senator Solomon Adeola (APC Lagos West) during an interactive session with major and subcontractors of the project.
According to Adeola, resolution for deportation of the Samsung boss was adopted by the Senate in line with a recommendation to that effect by the ad- hoc committee in its interim report.
The Senator who made the announcement to the hearing of the embattled South Korean and other operators of the Egina oil field project, revealed that the illegality of Young Ho Jo residency in Nigeria came to the fore during scrutiny of his papers.
He said, “Mr. Young Ho Jo, who has been working for the past two months in Nigeria as the Managing Director of Samsung without fulfilling legal requirements for such, told us that he couldn’t complete his documentation as a result of alleged breakdown of machines of the Nigeria Content Development Monitoring Board (NCMDB).
“But the NCMBD wrote to us that their machine had never broken down in the period claimed to show that the man has contravened the local content law. Going by recommendations made by this committee to the Senate and resolution adopted, MD Samsung is no longer recognized on account of improper documentation as shown by papers he presented.
“To the Senate and this committee, Samsung MD is an illegal immigrant who must be deported by the Nigerian Immigration Services, to which a letter to that effect has been forwarded to the Ministry of Interior. He can, however, come back to the country through proper documentation thereafter,” he said.
The committee chairman revealed further that Young Ho Jo, during his illegal residency in Nigeria as Samsung MD, also violated the Local Content Act by spending $1.6 billion out of the $3.5 billion contract Samsung got from the $16.35 billion Egina Oil Field Project in Goje, South Korea.
However, the Managing Director of Total Upstream Nigeria Limited, Nicolas Terraz, stated that as the major operator of the project, it will continue to assist the committee in its investigations adding that its goal is to deliver the project expected produce 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day while its FPSO have a holding capacity of 2 million barrel.
The representative of NNPC/NAPIMS, Engr. Gbolahan Okesanya, said that it will ensure that maximum cooperation is given to the audit team of the Senate when it commences work adding that the goal of the audit team tallies with that of NNPC/NAPIMS in its regulation of the oil industry.
Meanwhile, the second phase of the investigation would be carried out by consultants to be assigned by the Senate for 16 weeks on the spot assessment of the project execution as regards value for money in line with the local content act.
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