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Stakeholders have discussed how to upscale opportunities in local content development to boost the national economy. The stakeholders spoke at the recent 5th Valuechain Annual Lecture and Awards in Abuja with the theme: ‘The Impact of Nigerian Content Law: Taking a Cue from the Successes in the Oil and Gas Industry.’
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The Chairman of the occasion, Senator Margery Chuba Okadigbo, commended Valuechain for consistently educating the public through solutions noting that the Local Content Law in Nigeria is a success story and an indication that the government has good initiatives towards the development of the country’s economy.
“Nigeria is contributing less than 10% from the oil and gas industry to the nation’s GDP but with a successful local content, we can be assured that Nigeria would experience about 20-30% contribution to GDP from the petroleum industry”, said Okadigbo who was represented by Professor Omowumi Iledare, a professor of Petroleum Economics and Policy Research.
Speaking earlier as a panelist at the event, the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi urged Nigerians to be advocates of local content.
“It is important to translate the successes recorded by the oil and gas sector into other sectors while focusing on their different peculiarities,” said Abdullahi who was represented by the National Coordinator of the Agency’s Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation, Yakubu Musa.
Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Simbi Wabote, listed the milestones achieved by the oil and gas industry over the years and urged all other industries to replicate them in their various industries. Wabote was represented by the agency’s Head of Legal Service, Barrister Naboth,
On his part, the former Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the Petroleum Equalization Fund (PEF) commended Valuechain for their efforts noting that these will attract foreign investments into the country.
Describing the theme of the event as timely, he said “as the theme suggests, I think we can diversify by harnessing the potentials in all the sectors to move the country forward”.
