Reps charge FG to enforce economy wide local content legislation

The House of Representatives has charged the federal government to enforce the local content law in all sectors of the country’s economy.

The Nigerian Local Content Development and Enforcement Bill, 2020, sponsored by House Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila, Rep. Ochiglegor Idagbo and six others is expected to consolidate the gains recorded with the enactment of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, 2010, in other sectors of the Nigerian economy.

According to the sponsors of the bill, the participation of indigenous workers in the oil and gas sector has saved the country trillions of naira as a result of the NOGICD Act.

Based on this, they argued thatother sectors can also benefit from such an initiative considering the new global realities to look inward as dictated by the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Rep. Ochiglegor Idagbo, speaking on the import of the bill, said it has become crucial for local players in other sectors to be empowered for the post-oil and gas era, and become strong brands nationally and internationally.

He noted that this is to ensure higher employment, capacity building and socio-economic security as Nigeria prepares for the post-COVID-19 era.

Rep. Idagbo said that “the proposed bill also seeks to provide the legal basis for enforcement of Presidential Executive Orders 003 and 005 on local content signed by President Muhammadu Buhari.

“The gains so far made as a result of the enactment of the NOGICD Act, 2010 is record-breaking. Nigerians have greatly increased their expertise in petroleum exploration and now extend their businesses to neighbouring countries.

“Trillions in naira terms have been saved as a result of local participation in the oil and gas industry.

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“Presently, Nigerians are involved in so many sub-sectors of the petroleum industry as a result of strict monitoring of the activities of companies that before the coming into effect of the NOGICD Act, usually ignore local labour and materials in the exploitation of our petroleum resources.”

The House member added that extending the local content requirements beyond the petroleum industry to other critical sectors of the economy is now imperative as the country must look inward to assert and ensure her economic independence.

“The executive arm of government had even before the COVID – 19, been thinking along this line, thus leading to the issuance of the presidential Executive Orders 003 and 005 on local content even before the appearance of COVID – 19 in the world.

“The time is now, for the country to depend on herself for her future survival without becoming a beggarly nation,” he asserted.

According to Rep. Idagbo, the bill is also seeking the creation of local content departments in Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government (MDAs), in addition to making it a requirement for local content plan on major projects above N100 million outlining minimum local content thresholds for materials, labour and services.

The bill is also seeking local content in the solicitation of bids, as a pre-condition for contract awards, in addition to the creation of the Nigerian content committee to develop economy-wide local content policy.

Also, the bill seeks the creation of a local content trust fund dedicated to implementing projects and programmes connected to developing local content, and another clause for the application of the fund to develop SMEs through low-interest project-based financing schemes.

“The enactment of the Nigerian Local Content Development and Enforcement Bill will further strengthen executive-legislature synergy and oversight on local content administration in key sectors of the economy.

“It will also provide the necessary legislative backbone for the implementation of key initiatives that will evolve from the presidential economic sustainability committee as well as other policy actions by the executive aimed at repositioning the economy post-COVID-19,” Rep. Idagbo added.