No less than $9 billion has been retained from the average $20 billion being spent in the oil and gas industry yearly due to the implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act.
This disclosure was made by the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Simbi Wabote during a building workshop in Lagos.
Wabote added that about nine million man-hours had been achieved in training, with indigenous players owning about 40% of marine vessels operating in the industry.
According to the statement obtained from the NCDMB, Wabote lamented the drought of Final Investment Decisions on major oil and gas projects, saying it was one of the issues affecting local content development in the country.
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He recommended that one major project should be sanctioned in the industry every two years to ensure continuous use of capacities and capabilities established in-country. Wabote also said that relevant agencies should be involved while negotiating terms of foreign loans, to ensure due consideration of local content requirements in the loans and the attendant projects.
Also speaking during the workshop was the Chairman, Senate Committee on Local Content, Senator Teslim Folarin, who was quoted by Punch saying that the event was organised to enable the legislators to have in-depth knowledge on the mandate of the NCDMB, its governing Act, identify areas of amendments and understand their oversight functions.
Why this matters: As stated by Folarin, the NOGICD Act when effectively enforced would enhance in-country value creation and retention and generate employment for Nigerians across the industry value chain.
While noting that revenue accruable to the Federal Government from other key sectors of the economy was dwindling which is more reason why the act should be put in place.
Folarin commended the NCDMB for the creation of an enabling environment for indigenous companies to thrive in the industry, promotion of knowledge transfer, deepening in-country technical capacity, and increasing industry contribution to the Gross Domestic Product among others.
He promised that the National Assembly would continue to collaborate with the NCDMB to understand its challenges and that of the industry, with a view to providing necessary legislative support for the board to enforce the NOGICD Act.
