The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has charged the National Assembly to extend Nigerian local content law to other sectors of the economy in the country including information technology, power, construction, amongst others.
The Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Mr. Simbi Wahote gave the charge in Abuja on Monday while delivering a lecture ‘The Impact of Nigerian Content Law: Taking a Cue from the Successes in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry,’ at the 5th edition of the Valuechain Magazine Lectures and Awards.
Represented by the Head of Legal Service of the NCDMB, Naboth Onyesoh, Wabote pointed out that the success and accomplishments recorded in the implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act had elicited calls by various stakeholder for the extension of local content regulations to other sectors in the country.
According to the ES, considerations of a Bill to extend the Local Content Law to those sectors must adopt a bespoke approach to take care of the peculiarities of those sectors in order to achieve success.
Wabote’s charge comes at the period of ongoing efforts by lawmakers to enact the Nigerian Local Content Development and Enforcement Bill 2020 to create a local content legislation for other key sectors of the national economy.
The NCDMB boss noted that President Muhammed Buhari had reinforced the local content practice in the oil and gas industry through his support for the Board’s programs as well as by issuing the Executive Orders (EO: 003 & 005) aimed at promoting local content in the public procurements and projects.
He said that “there is no question about the imperative of extending local content law to other sectors. Interestingly, this patriotic desire is being expressed from different perspectives. Each of the bills have their merits and concerns; the concerns would require relevant stakeholder inputs and collaboration to sort out and to make progress.
“Much as it does not lie only in our mouth as a Board to determine the shape or form the proposed legislative intervention would take, the Board strongly aligns with the call to extend the Nigerian Content Law to other sectors.
“However, based on our experiences in 12years of implementing the current law and the peculiarity of the oil and gas industry, we think that it would be more efficient and successful to adopt a bespoke approach, which would consider the peculiarities of the various sectors intended to be covered.
According to Wabote, NCDMB has been pragmatic in implementation of the Nigerian Content Law in the oil and gas industry to support the critical task of nation-building and for the actualization of some of the federal government’s policies and initiatives under President Muhammed Buhari.
He further explained that the Board’s activities have been geared towards the drive for job creation, implementation of the decade of gas, ease of doing business, diversification in the context of the economic recovery and growth and plan (ERGP).
The Executive Secretary, who commended the efforts of Valuechain magazine, said that the publication’s story resonates with that of the Board as it tells of the positive impact of a small organization within a relatively short period of time.
“The publisher has made a significant impact on the media landscape and the oil and gas sector,” he said, adding that the magazine has carved a niche for itself by taking up the task of providing solutions by presenting credible information and education to empower Nigerians to participate actively in the oil and gas industry.
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