Ike Amos
11 November 2017, Sweetcrude, Abuja — The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Friday, called for a closer examination of the level of compliance to the Nigerian Content Act among companies to further deepen the policy.
In a statement in Abuja, Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mr. Maikanti Baru, said the need to monitor the compliance level of the extant legislation and policy on Nigerian Content, was to evolve new models that would shape the policy and legislation on the subject in many areas.
“Some of the areas include fiscal incentives to attract foreign direct investment, access to credit facilities among others,” he noted.
Baru, who was delivering the lead paper at the 47th Conference and Annual General Meeting of Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineers in Port Harcourt, also pledged to promote the development and commercialization of home-grown technology in collaboration with the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).
Baru noted that the effort would be driven by the Research and Development (R&D) arm of the NNPC, adding that the collaborative effort with the NCDMB was already manifesting with the joint establishment of research clusters that will specialize in different areas of the oil and gas activities.
He declared that Nigeria was in dire need of urgently clawing back, from foreign yards, most fabrication works, and other services in the industry to boost the contribution of the industry to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
He said, “The new operating philosophy should lay emphasis on in-country manufacturing, job creation, skills development, technology development, capital retention, research and development and fostering sectorial linkages with other critical sectors of the economy in order to drive industrialization,’’ he said.
He added that the NNPC was currently in collaboration with NCDMB with a view to aligning the Nigerian Petroleum Exchange (NipeX) portal and the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Joint Qualification System, NOGICJQS portal, to adequately capture the capacity of local companies.
The NNPC said the theme of Baru’s paper at the occasion was Nigerian Content Development: Catalyst for Industrialisation.
It said the highlight of the conference was the conferment of Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineers on Dr. Baru.