ODAHIEKWU OGUNDE, YENAGOA
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has partnered law enforcement agencies in the country as part of the measures to achieve seamless enforcement and implementation of the Nigerian Local Content Act in the oil and gas industry.
At the Local Content Tower in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital, on Tuesday, law enforcement agencies such as the Nigeria Police, the Department of State Services (DSS), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nigeria Customs Service, among others, were present at the sensitisation workshop.
Speaking during the programme, the Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Mr Simbi Wabote, called for the deployment of multi-institutional approach and sensitisation programme for law enforcement agencies and stakeholders in the implementation of the Local Content Act in oil and gas sector.
He said the workshop was meant to enlighten stakeholders on the activities of the Board and to highlight the roles the participants — the law enforcement agents are needed to play in the implementation of the Act.
Wabote stated: “In order to help us implement the provisions of the Act, we have the Customs, EFCC, ICPC, DSS, police and they all have roles to play in the enforcement of the Act.
“For example, the EFCC, the law provides for people to comply with the provisions and if there is any breach, you need the authorities to help you go after the errant people. Therefore, all the law enforcement agencies have different roles to play in the implementation of the Act.
“On expatriate quota, we don’t give quota but we endorse it in accordance with the law; we approve requests from the oil and gas industry and enforcers like the Immigration Service will work with them to ensure that the expatriates that we give approvals are those that need the desired quota.
“We go through the biometric process to ensure that we monitor those that were approved. Customs role again, there are certain things that are barred from the oil and gas industry that we cannot import, so we work hand and hand with Customs to ensure that if those items are brought into the country they are impounded in order to ensure the implementation of the Act. Therefore, we need to collaborate with them in order to be successful with what we do.”
Also speaking, Head of Legal Services, NCDMB, Barrister Naboth Onyesoh, said the essence of the workshop was to ensure that relevant stakeholders were brought in to support local content implementation and enforcement.
He said the idea was that local content is like a big load which no single entity could carry, noting that it is a national economic agenda geared towards employment, creating industrialisation, ensuring capital retention in-country and so many activities revolving around the oil and gas industry.
Onyesoh said: “We know oil and gas remains the mainstay of our economy, so it is important that other agencies that are connected with economic activities understand what the mandate of the NCDMB is and where they can support us to ensure compliance with relevant requirements within the oil and gas industry.
“That is the very essence of bringing in the relevant of law enforcement agencies together so that they will be able to partner and collaborate with the Board to achieve collective impact in local content in the oil and gas industry.”