The Senate Committee on Local Content on Wednesday held the first interactive session with the leadership of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) at the Senate Building at Abuja and resolved to collaborate and deepen the implementation of local content in the oil and gas industry and linkage sectors.
The Chairman of the Committee, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan moderated the meeting and assured that the committee would not antagonize the Board and other entities under its supervision but would collaborate towards effective implementation of the Board’s mandate for the benefit of Nigerians.
She expressed concern over the parlous state of the economy, particularly the alarming level of unemployment which has fuelled an increase in criminality. She emphasised the need to deepen the implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD Act, to create employment opportunities from the activities in the oil industry and catalyse other sectors of the economy.
She requested the Board to submits performance reports on the implementation of the NOGICD Act, specifically on the Board’s third-party investments, capacity building programmes, expatriate quota management and research and development. She also requested the Board to recommend sections of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act that needed to be amended by the National Assembly.
Other questions raised by the committee concerned the status of the Nigerian Content Development Fund (NCDF) and the performance of the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCI Fund).
The Committee Chair criticised the international oil companies (IOCs) in Nigeria for not investing in the petrochemical sub-sector and other associated manufacturing activities, whereas IOCs in other oil producing jurisdictions make such investments and contribute significantly to those economies. She announced that the committee would invite the IOCs and other relevant agencies of Government, with a view to compel the companies to create tangible value in the Nigerian economy beyond the extraction and sale of crude oil. She said: “We need to get them around the table and tell them what we want as a country as against watching them export crude oil only.”
In his comments, the Executive Secretary NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe thanked the committee for adopting a cooperative approach and assured that the Board would provide all the requested documentations and partner effectively, to achieve the mandate of the committee and that of the Board.
On the Board’s performance, the Executive Secretary stated that the Nigerian Content level for 2022 and 2023 stood at 54 percent and the Board is on course to accomplish the 70 percent target for 2027, as set in the Nigerian Content roadmap.
On international oil companies’ model of operation in Nigeria, the Executive Secretary explained that most oil conglomerates have different arms, which includes the downstream companies which make such investments in the petrochemical and linkage sub-sectors. He however, noted that most operating companies in Nigeria do not have such subsidiaries in the country, hinting that the Board is willing to support indigenous firms that are interested in such ventures.
He added that the Board lacked the mandate to compel the IOCs to change their business model in Nigeria but was collaborating with some oil companies to develop the Nigerian Oil and Gas Parks Scheme (NOGaPs), which is designed to manufacture oil and gas equipment and components as well as other manufacturing and research and technology programmes.
Copyright: Fresh Angle International (www.freshangleng.com)
ISSN 2354 - 4104
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