By John Ikani
The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Simbi Wabote has attributed the massive growth of local content in Nigeria to the enactment of the NOGICD Act 2010, stressing that it has reversed dominance by foreign companies in the nation’s oil and gas sector.
The local content boss made this known on Wednesday while delivering his keynote address at the NCDMB 2022 Local Content Workshop For Bayelsa State Judiciary with the theme: “Philosophy and the imperatives of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act”.
The event held in NCDMB Conference Centre in Yenagoa, drew participants from the Bayelsa Judiciary, Federal High Court Yenagoa, Nigeria Industrial Court Yenagoa and Port Harcourt Divisions.
What the NCDMB boss is saying
Engr. Wabote said the NOGICD act helped grow Nigerian content in the oil and gas sector to 42 per cent from 5 per cent before the enactment of the Act.
“With less than 5 per cent local content before the enactment of the NOGICD Act 2010, Nigerians were reversing dominance by foreign companies,” he said.
The growth, according to Wabote, translates to retention of over $8 billion of the $20 billion annual spending in the industry, within the Nigerian economy and part of the NCDMB’s 10-year plan (2017-2027) to achieve 70 per cent by 2027.
The local content boss went on to note that: “Currently Nigerian-owned oil companies produced 15 per cent of the country’s daily oil output and account for some 60 per cent of domestic gas supply.”
He further disclosed that 40% of oil vessels are now owned by Nigerians in the sector.
How PIA reinforced the NOGICD Act – Onyeso
Also speaking at the workshop, Mr Naboth Onyeso, Head of Legal Services at NCDMB revealed that despite oil and gas being on the exclusive legislative list, some conflict arising from the implementation of the NOGICD Act may be brought before the state judiciary.
“The NCDMB saw all levels of the judiciary at state and federal levels as critical stakeholders who needed to understand the NOGICD Act.
“He said that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) reinforced the NOGICD Act as it complemented the legislation” he said.
Judiciary well positioned to give unbiased interpretation of the law – Chief Judge
On her part, Chief Judge of Bayelsa, Mrs Kate Abiri who served as a resource person in one of the technical sessions on the; “Role of the Judiciary in attaining the goals of the NOGICD Act” examined all the sections of the Act.
She said a detailed grasp of the contents and intents of the legislation was crucial for the judiciary to give unbiased interpretation of the law.
Other key contributions
Senior officials of the NCDMB also presented papers at the technical session on the various aspects of the board’s operations before the audience.
The panel session of the workshop was on the topic: “Challenges of enforcing breaches of the NOGICD Act, The Role of the Bar and the Bench”.
Dr Pereowei Subai, Head of Department, Property/Private Law, Niger Delta University, served as moderator of the panel session comprising Onyeso of the NCDMB and Prof Solomon Ebobra, Law Faculty of the Niger Delta University.
Other members of the panel were Justice Mohammed Madugu, Judge of Federal High Court, Abuja, and legal practitioners, Inemesit Dike, and Kelvin Ejelonu.
High Point of the event was the commissioning of the e-library for the Bayelsa State Judiciary situated in the Bayelsa State Judiciary complex funded by the NCDMB.
