Buhari sets 70% local content target for NCDMB, oil industry by 2027
President Muhammadu Buhari, Thursday charged the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) to achieve 70 per cent local content in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry by 2027.
Buhari, who was represented by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Timipre Sylva, gave the indication on the sidelines of the virtual commissioning of the 17-storey Nigerian Content Tower and headquarters of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
The President as part of the ceremony also inaugurated the 10MW built by Eni companies in Nigeria and its partners, in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State to power the headquarters building of NCDMB and other major government and industrial facilities in the state.
He said that the nation’s local content currently stands at 40 percent, stressing there was no better time than the COVID-19 period to grow local capacity in the oil and gas industry. The President also pledged to spend more on infrastructure across the country, focusing on finishing projects delivered by local contractors and technology that create jobs for thousands of Nigerians.
Buhari said the iconic 17-storey building, known as the Nigerian Content Tower, with the full complements of a 10MW Power Plant and 1000-seater Conference Centre, reflects his administration’s drive to provide infrastructure across the country to attract investments, create jobs and eradicate poverty.
‘‘With the commissioning of this project, I want to highlight that we have put in place a landmark of reference in the Niger Delta to reflect long lasting legacies that signpost the years of oil and gas exploitation and I assure you that there are more to come,’’ he said.
‘‘I believe strongly in local production and patronage of our goods and services as one of the surest ways to empower our citizens and give them viable opportunities to excel in their chosen professions and business endeavors.
‘‘That is why two of the Executive Orders issued under our government are related to enforcing local content in public procurement and contracts to further replicate the successes being realised in the oil and gas industry,’’.
Also speaking, the executive Secretary of NCDMB, Mr. Simbi Wabote, said he was delighted that the project which commenced in the fourth quarter of 2015 was completed in less than five years.
He added that the project which was constructed by a Nigerian company, Megastar Nigeria Limited can compete with any public building of its peer anywhere in world, adding that over 90 percent local personnel delivered on the project.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday assured that his administration will vote more funds to completing projects that are delivered by local contractors and technology to create jobs for thousands of Nigerians.
The President expressed his delight that thousands of direct and indirect jobs were created during the execution of the project in addition to the various business opportunities.
Source: The Sun
