Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board on Wednesday announced that Nigerian Content in the oil and gas sector has risen to 42 percent.
The growth, according to the Board, translates to retention of over $8billion of the $20 billion annual spend of the industry within the Nigerian economy and part of the NCDMB’s 10-year plan 2017-2027 to achieve 70 percent by 2027.
Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Wabote, disclosed this while speaking at a Local Content workshop for the judiciary in Bayelsa, with the theme, ‘Philosophy and The Imperatives of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act.’
Wabote noted that with less than 5percent Local Content before the enactment of the NOGICD Act in 2010, Nigerians are reversing dominance by foreign companies.
He explained that currently Nigerian owned oil companies produce 15 percent of the country’s daily oil output and account for some 60 percent of domestic gas supply.
On ownership of oil and gas industry equipment, Wabote said that available records indicate 40 per cent of vessels deployed in the sector were owned by Nigerians.
Also speaking, NCDMB Head of Legal Services, Mr Naboth Onyesoh, stated
that although oil and gas was on the exclusive legislative list, some conflict arising from implementation of the NOGICD Act may be brought before state judiciary.
Onyesoh said that the NCDMB sees the all levels of judiciary at state and federal levels as critical stakeholders who need to understand the NIGICD Act.
Also, the Chief Judge of Bayelsa, Justice Kate Abiri, said a detailed grasp of the contents and intents of the NOGICD Act was crucial for the judiciary to give unbiased interpretation of the law.
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