Business Briefs
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THE House of Representatives’ Committee on Local Content has warned international oil and gas services companies, including Samsung Heavy Industries, SHI of South Korea, against flouting the Nigerian Local Content laws. The committee said it strongly opposed a situation where foreign oil firms and their cohorts exceed expatriate quota and breaking other rules that are contained in the Nigerian Content Act.
It added that it would not allow any infractions on the Act to go unpunished. Emmanuel Ekon, chairman of the committee, while speaking on the sideline of tour of LADOL Free Trade Zone in Lagos, by the committee, said no efforts would be spared to ensure that foreign-owned firms comply with all known local content rules in Nigeria.
He said the committee would sanction any non-compliant firm irrespective of its investments in the country. “The fact that Samsung partner LADOL to build multi-billion dollar Total Egina Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel in Nigeria does not confer on it the right to violate the laws of the land. The committee is not out to witch-hunt any firm, but it was only doing its job of implementing laws for the growth of country.”
According to him, monopoly is the bane of the Nigerian economy, adding that local operators in the petroleum industry have shown that they cannot be put aside by their foreign counterparts. Ekon said the committee would use its legislative instruments to protect indigenous operators in the oil sector and others.
“The indigenous companies have shown that they have the capacity to grow the economy. LADOL is one of such firms. The company has demonstrated faith in Nigeria by investing over $600 million in the country. Besides, LADOL has built a fabrication yard of its zone. The yard has employed 2,500 people and helped in developing skills.
“The major goal of LADOL is to provide 50,000 direct and indirect jobs and the firm is working hard to achieve this. That is why stakeholders must join forces together to support LADOL and other companies that have shown the desire to promote the nation’s economy,” he said.
Ekon berated Nigerians, who have lots of money in banks abroad because they help in promoting foreign economies to the detriment of Nigeria. Also Daziba Patrick Obah, acting executive secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB, urged local investors to invest in Nigeria, stressing that they stand to gain a lot by doing so.
He said with the local content law, indigenous firms are sure of getting good returns on investment. Obah said: “The Board, the House of Representatives Committee on Local Content and other relevant stakeholders are out to promote indigenous investment. We would do all we can to support local operators with a view to developing the nation’s economy. The Board, for instance, has taken a decision to open office in LADOL base. It is part of the efforts to promote local content,” he said.
— Jul 18, 2016 @ 01:00 GMT
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