The Petroleum Product Pricing Regulation Agency (PPPRA), has reiterated support for the National Orientation Agency (NOA), on its sensitisation programme for government policies and activities across the country.

Mr Olasupo Agbaje, General Manager, Gas and Renewable Energy of PPPRA stated this during an interview with newsmen at the side-line of the roundtable on local content policy organised by NOA in Abuja.

The roundtable with the theme “Roundtable on Local Content: Benefits and Prospects: The Down Stream Regulatory Perspective’’ attracted relevant stakeholders from Ministry, Department and Agencies (MDAs) in the country.

“Let me say that beyond the issue of local content and the downstream, I believe that NOA is an agency that is position and empowered to lead the discuss on key national issues and sensitise Nigerians on the issue of local content.

“Downstream operation is one of them; so we are glad that they are begin to take up this responsibility because there are so many things that Nigerians need to know. There is a lot of consciousness that is not there about the industry and many tropical issues.

“NOA is in position to reach the 774 Local Government Areas of this country and bring germane issues of national development to the front burner so that Nigerians can discuss them.

“So that is why we are glad; PPPRA is committed to providing NOA with all the support that they need to carry out their mandate,’’ Agbeje said.

On the potentials and benefits of local content, Agbeje said that it involved getting Nigerian to do those things that foreigners would come do for us.

He added that there were a lot of implications for foreigners to come and carry out some works in the different sectors of the country’s economy.

According to him, the expatriates are not doing it for free, they are taking away our foreign exchange, resources and income.

“So why not get our people to have the capacity; there is a lot of potentials in local content; in the downstream today we have deports, jetties and we even have a locally owned refinery coming up.

“Capacity has been transform in the downstream from foreign to local over the last 15 years; I think that is a shining example of what local content can do.

“We can get a lot of Nigerians employed and also experience infrastructure development by getting so many Nigerians to get involve in those things that will don’t really need foreigners to do for us.

“This is because we believe that we have the capacity; we just need the encouragement and push to get things done,’’ he said.

Agbaje maintained that the private sector had always been partners in progress in the downstream sector of the oil economy.

“That is why the downstream is where it is today and that is why you will have an individual put up a 650 metric tons refinery in Nigeria; that is the largest in Africa,’’ he said.

According to him, the reason for such feat is enabling environment that is being provided.

“Similar thing should also be replicated in other sector of the economy, not the only oil economy alone and I believe that is ongoing’’. (NAN)

– Sept. 19, 2018 @ 15:12 GMT |