Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The Senate Committee on Local Content will soon commence investigations into the alleged breach of the country’s Local Content Act by Saipem Contracting Nigeria Limited, on the construction of Nigeria LNG Limited’s Train-7 project.
The investigation is as a result of a petition by one Messrs Moboluwaduro Abimbola, to the Senate President, Dr Ahmad Lawan, and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission, ICPC, who raised the alarm that Saipem breached Nigeria’s local content laws.
Abimbola in the petition, further alleged that the Italian firm did not involve indigenous companies in the processes of awarding contracts on the Nigeria LNG Limited’s Train 7 project.
The contract for the construction of Nigeria LNG seventh gas plant project, commonly known as Train7, was awarded in 2019 to SCD JV Consortium made up of three companies, namely Saipem, Daewoo and Chiyoda.
The petitioner claimed that the Nigerian Content Plan for the Train-7 project was approved and that a Certificate of Authorisation had been issued by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board since the March 22, 2019.
Abimbola also said that a few months into the commencement of the project, the National Assembly received several petitions which detailed how Saipem, the principal partner in the delivery of the project, had allegedly created a strange system.
The strange system, according to him, exclude qualified Nigerian companies in the bidding and award process of contracts.
He maintained that the practice, was against the local content laws deliberately reserved for Nigerians to benefit from.
A member of the Senate Committee on Local Content who spoke anonymously, confirmed that the Senate leadership has directed the Committee to urgently investigate the matter.
“We have been mandated to investigate the case and we shall commence action once we are through with the budget defence session this week.
“We will summon the management of the company to come and tell Nigerians why they are flouting the country’s law and shortchanging the citizenry in the process.”
The $10billion Train-7 project is expected to create more than 12,000 direct jobs and additional 40,000 indirect construction jobs, and develop Nigerian local capacity and businesses.
