Experts from different industries have converged to harness the abundant opportunities in the exploitation and exploration of local content development to boost the national economic growth of Nigeria.
The experts from all sector the economy met is at the 5th Valuechain Annual Lecture and Awards with the theme: “The Impact of Nigerian Content Law: Taking a Cue from the Successes in the Oil and Gas Industry”, where they shared experiences and ideas on aggrandizing local content development in the country.
Speaking at the event, a senator, Mrs Margery Chuba Okadigbo who chaired the occasion and was represented by Professor Omowumi Iledare, a professor of Petroleum Economics and Policy Research commended Valuechain for consistently educating the public by projecting the image of the country in good light.
She noted 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.
According to her, growing revenue is not the same thing as growing the economy, and that local content is not about making people millionaires but rather, adding value significantly to the 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”, she added.
Speaking earlier as a panelist at the event, the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa urged Nigerians to be advocates of local content.
Inuwa who was represented by the National Coordinator of the Agency’s Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation, Engr. Yakubu Musa stated that it is highly imperative to look inwards in Nigeria to develop locally made goods and services.
While commending the initiative of the programme, Inuwa said, “It is important to translate the successes recorded by the oil and gas sector into other sectors while focusing on their different peculiarities”.
Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Simbi Wabote, gave an overview of the agency’s activities, and the unprecedented milestones achieved by the oil and gas industry over the years.
He urged all other industries to take a cue from it, adopt their strategies and replicate them in their various industries for a collective contribution to the growth of the nation’s economy.
Former Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF) commended the organisers adding discussions at the local content will attract foreign investments in the country.
He that said, “I think we can diversify by harnessing the potentials in all the sectors to move the country forward”.
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