Business
Content Board Seeks Stakeholders Commitment To Compliance
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) wants stakeholders’ commitment to compliance even as it says local content implementation will bring back Nigerian jobs.
A statement by the Public Affairs Office of the Board in Abuja on Thursday quoted the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Mr Ernest Nwapa, as making the remarks during his visit to some oil companies.
It said that Nwapa’s visit to Chevron Nigeria Ltd. and ExxonMobil was part of his week-long sensitisation programme to major oil and gas industry stakeholders in Lagos.
Nwapa was quoted as saying that the implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGIC) Act was geared toward the establishment of facilities in Nigeria.
It said the implementation of the Act was also aimed at ensuring that the local facilities were patronised so as to bring Nigerian jobs back home.
According to him, the emphasis of the Federal Government with the implementation of the Act is not aimed at only retaining the bulk of the annual oil and gas industry expenditure in the country.
But its ultimate aim was to create employment for millions of Nigerians from the oil and gas industry operations.
Nwapa was quoted as noting that most countries in the world were currently working toward bringing back jobs for their nationals in the wake of the global economic crisis.
The executive secretary was also quoted as saying that this agenda of the Federal Government should be supported by all stakeholders in the oil and gas industry.
He conceded that keeping the cost of production reasonable and meeting work schedules were critical to national revenue.
Nwapa, however, stressed that given Nigeria’s population of 150 million, the oil and gas industry, which is the main stay of the economy, needed to pay special attention to job creation.
The executive secretary explained that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Joint Venture Partners could not employ more than 25,000 persons.
He said that several thousands of Nigerians would be employed if the companies put jobs in the yards of local service companies and encouraged their traditional service providers to build facilities in Nigeria to execute their contracts locally.
Nwapa expressed regret that the preference for importation of almost all the goods and services used in the industry was steadily eliminating opportunities to develop human capacity and infrastructure.
The executive secretary said the consequence of the practice was the impoverishment of our people and stultifying national economic growth.
Illustrating, he said: “Each major offshore production facility contract award to be fabricated in the traditional Asian fabrication yard translates into the export of more than one billion dollar capital from the Nigerian economy.
“Five thousand Nigerian jobs are lost in the two-year engineering and fabrication period and the opportunity to train several thousands other Nigerians within same time frame.
“Such decisions also result in lost opportunity to upgrade existing yards and build new ones, cripple opportunity to attract investments to the facilities and lost opportunities to grow partnerships between local and foreign companies.”
Nwapa stressed that such practice must stop, adding that compliance with the provisions of the Act called for a drastic change in the ways the industry were being run for decades to achieve government’s aspirations.
Nwapa also asked the international oil companies to provide the board with the concrete strategies they had adopted to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Act.
The executive secretary also asked the oil companies to strive to meet the targets set by the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke for the industry.
He pointed out that the board was set to invoke the non compliance sanctions prescribed in the Act for defaulting companies.
Nwapa charged the companies to come up with individual strategies of putting work in the yards of Nigerian service companies.
He also asked them to come up with plans to utilise indigenously owned marine vessels and comply with the expatriate quota provisions of the Act.
Nwapa maintained that foreign and local investors would not be encouraged to establish facilities in Nigeria to bridge capacity gaps until the board was convinced that existing facilities were being patronised.
He pledged the board’s unwavering determination to enforce compliance with the Act.
Nwapa added that “we need to demonstrate to bidders and service providers that when you do not comply with the provisions of the Act, you lose out from tenders.”
He also canvassed for a change of the mindset by Nigerians holding executive positions in the oil companies to balance loyalty to employer with a responsibility to align with national objectives when advising and taking key decisions.
In his comments, the Managing Director of Chevron Nigeria, Mr Andrew Fawthrop, commended NCDMB for initiating the engagement, which he said, would build consensus on the implementation of the Act.
He said that Chevron was committed to complying with the Act, but pointed at difficulties arising from the absence of a transition period and insufficient capacity in certain areas.
Illustrating the dilemma in balancing government aspirations, he said: “If you are seeing resistance, it is because we have goals to meet on oil production and gas delivery among other things and failure attracts some penalties.”
In his comments, the Managing Director of ExxonMobil Nigeria, Mr Mark Ward, assured NCDMB that the company would be proactive in complying with the Act.
According to him, you are going to see a different approach from ExxonMobil.
“We will not wait until we get everything right because doing nothing frustrates implementation of the Act,” Ward said.
The Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT), the country’s satellite operator, has called for immediate promolgation of policy action that will enable the country to harness the potentials of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
NIGCOMSAT, also warned that Nigeria risks missing out on Africa’s projected $1.2trillion share of the global AI economy by 2030.
Managing Director of NIGCOMSAT, Nkechi Egerton-Idehen, disclosed this in a statement issued at the weekend following her participation in the Meeting of the National Council for Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy.
“Artificial intelligence is reshaping industries, economies, and societies worldwide, with projections that it will contribute up to $15.7trillion to the global economy by 2030. Africa stands to gain $1.2trillion of this if the right policies and innovations are in place”, Idehen said, citing a PricewaterhouseCoopers report.
The NIGCOMSAT MD underscored the transformative potential of AI in agriculture, highlighting its applicability in Benue State, widely regarded as Nigeria’s “food basket.”
According to her, machine learning tools could revolutionize agricultural practices by improving pest detection and optimizing planting schedules using satellite imagery.
“AI offers us the chance to not only flourish economically but also to achieve food security. However, we must ask ourselves if we are prepared to manage this technology responsibly”, she added.
Idehen also noted that internet access remains a significant barrier to AI adoption in Nigeria.
“For AI tools to be effective, basic digital infrastructure is essential. Addressing this gap must be a priority.
“AI is happening. We have the opportunity to manage this technology revolution responsibly, both in Africa and globally, through innovation and governance”, she said.
In August 2024, the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy released a draft National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, aiming to position Nigeria as a global leader in AI.
Corlins Walter
The Chairman of Emohua Local Government Council, Chief David Omereji, has said the council has so far spent over N1 billion for the electrification of communities in the area.
Omereji said this while addressing staff of the council at the council headquarters recently.
He said the move was part of his administration’s resolve to ensure peace and development of the LGA.
According to him, the Council spent about N29 million on monthly basis for the maintenance of the Emohua Local Vigilante group known as OSPAC, with each member being paid a stipend of N100, 000 monthly.
He diaclosed that 11 out of the 14 wards are currently enjoying electricity, while efforts are on to light-up the remaining ones.
“I also want to use this opportunity to inform the political class for purposes of records and for the understanding of the people that the Council under my watch have done more than enough”, he said .
The Emolga boss explained that all that have been achieved were through the personal effort of the Council, without support from anybody as rumoured in some quarters.
Omereji further reaveled that a number of other projects, including roads, fencing of schools, hospitals, courts premises, and reconstruction of some abandoned buildings at the Council Headquarters are being undertaken by his administration.
He enjoined the people of the area to support his administration’s drive to bring purposeful development to the LGA.
The Emohua Council boss, who reiterated his hatred for noise making, stated that his works would speak for him, and solicited the support of staff of the council and the entire people of the area.
He noted the fact that some people may not be happy with his achievements, saying that he would remain focused, while advising critics of his government to do so constructively with facts and figures.
King Onunwor
The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) has raised some ethical questions over a Financial and Technical Services Agreement (FTSA) between Sahara Energy and West African Gas Limited (WAGL), an affiliate of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC).
MOSOP said the agreement was not done in good faith, not in the interest of the Nigerian people, and did not follow due process.
Foremost Ogoni born activist and MOSOP leader, Fegalo Nsuke, who made this known in Abuja, weekend, described the Sahara-WAGL deal as fraudulent, deceptive and an insult on the intelligence and integrity of the Nigerian nation.
Nsuke called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to cancel that FTSA between Sahara Energy and WAGL, noting that the agreement is fraught with irregularities and deceptive.
“What Sahara and the NNPC did in the FTSA between Sahara and WAGL is shameful and depicts high level corruption in public service of our country.
“WAGL is an affiliate of Sahara and the NNPC. How then can Sahara go into an agreement with its own affiliate? It’s as good as going into an agreement with itself. This is deceptive and fraudulent”, Nsuke said.
He continued that “Sahara Energy is certainly not a company the Ogoni people want on their soil and we are calling on Mr. President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to terminate any deal between the NNPC and Sahara Energy over OML 11, and to allow for an inclusive arrangement that considers a fair treatment of the Ogoni people in the distribution of revenues from natural resource extraction on Ogoni soil.
“The last Ogoni Congress has been unequivocal on the Ogoni demand for justice and has given a clear path to resolve the three decade old conflict between all critical parties.
“It will be good to explore this path to peace and development for Ogoni and for our country”.
Nsuke accused Sahara Energy and the NNPC of frustrating the progress made by MOSOP to achieve a permanent solution to the Ogoni problem.
He urged a presidential intervention with deep consideration for a fair treatment of the Ogoni people in order to permanently address the problem.
He noted that Sahara Energy should give up on the Ogoni area to allow for an engagement in the interest of the country and the people.
Recall that MOSOP and Sagara Energy have recently been engaged in a row in what MOSOP describes as an unholy relationship between Sahara Energy and the NNPC over OML 11.
MOSOP expressly rejected Sahara Energy and called for a fair treatment of the Ogoni people in natural resource extraction in Ogoni.
It noted that Ogoni people, led by MOSOP, paid the sacrifice to take the oil from Shell, hence “the position of MOSOP must be taken into consideration in decisions relating to resumption of oil production in Ogoni”.