By Teddy Nwanunobi
The Managing Director of LADOL, Dr. Amy Jadesimi, has declared that the best way to move Nigeria and its economy forward is by embracing local content, saying that Nigerians are reliable, competent, and efficient in service delivery when they compete with their foreign counterparts.
Valuechain reports that local content is being championed in the oil industry by the Nigeria Content Development Management Board (NCDMB).
According to a company statement, Jadesimi maintained that local content will boost the economy, if Nigerians were allowed and offered the opportunity to exhibit their talents.
She stressed that local content would always be reliable and cheaper in the sustainability of any given organisation during and after the pandemic.
Jadesimi added that, at a cheaper cost, Nigerians are able to handle more complex task during the pandemic.
“Local content is the best way to go. Look at what happened during the pandemic; the oil companies and their expatriates have to send their workers back to their countries, but Nigerians and Nigeria proved themselves because things that were not supposed to be handed over to them ordinarily were later handled exclusively by Nigerians,” she said.
Jadesimi said the offshore logistics firm was able to survive the dreaded coronavirus pandemic last year due to local capacity, adding that the company also invested hugely on infrastructure, equipment, security, and personnel.
She reiterated that the company was interested in investing on human capacity because Nigeria in the future would be one of the focal points where people would invest due to the potential and opportunities that are abound.
The Managing Director said that most businesses were focusing on how to survive due to the pandemic, saying that LADOL was not an exception.
She emphasised that year 2020 was a very tough year for investors, but noted that the company was basically poised to invest massively on human capacity.
“Our plans, at the moment, (are) to bring back many staff as possible as the market picks up, and that is very important to us because we invest a lot on people and our staff in terms of training. There is no staff that has left that we don’t want to bring back because like I always say to people, this market is big but at the same time small. I think that going forward this year, we are hoping that by Q4, we will start to see some of these up-scales, and that will trigger significant hiring like probably a hundred additional people based on current projection,” she stated.
According to her, LADOL was well positioned during the global pandemic as it was able to reduce cost in the sustenance of operations with increased policies and procedures to soothe the current realities associated with the pandemic.
While speaking on Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), she expressed hopes that the trade agreement would favour Nigeria in terms of private sector participation in the market pointing out that Nigeria will not be used as a dumping ground as earlier speculated.
“It is the private sector participation that will drive the huge benefits for Nigeria and Nigerians in AFCFTA. We want to see more accountability, transparency, access to the markets and particularly with the small and medium sizes participation in the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement.
“Eighty per cent of jobs will come from the small and medium size enterprises because these are the companies that will make sure that we get the maximum economic benefits from Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement,” she explained.
Jadesimi noted that with adaptation to government policies, LADOL was able to establish an isolation center under Apapa Local Government Area, adding that with teamwork, LADOL was able to scale through the hurdles of COVID-19.