In the last seven years, the Nigerian Content Development Fund, NCDF, has grown to nearly $600 million. This was revealed to our correspondent by Simbi Wabote, executive secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB. Wabote further disclosed that irrespective of this available huge chunk of fund, meant to develop local expertise and know-how in companies operating in Nigeria, only three service companies have so far successfully accessed financial help from NCDF. Reason he said, is because oil companies and contractors routinely come up with bogus claims of having local expertise, just to grab the fund.Though Wabote believes that the 28 per cent local content provision in the upstream oil industry is grossly low, he said, Despite the healthy growth of the Fund, we are frustrated that it has not significantly addressed the purpose for which it was established by the Act.Wabote told our correspondent that in some cases, international oil companies, IOCs would announce several billion of dollar contract to local firms, but in actual fact a small fraction of the job, especially fabrication would be done within the country, while the huge chunk is taken offshore.Even though local content participation has risen from three per cent in the upstream sector to 28 per cent at the moment, stakeholders say this is still marginal considering the volume of activity and business in the Nigerian oil and gas sector.LEADERSHIP Sunday gathered that local oil companies and their contractors would usually flaunt unavailable technical capabilities just to win contracts and turn around to execute a big measure of the job with expatriate know-how, and oftentimes, offshore.Wabote, asserted that the many deceitful games oil companies and contractor companies play constitute the major impediment towards realising the objective of the Nigerian Local Content Law.It could be recalled that the House Committee on Local Content on its part has also discovered that many of the foreign companies involved in observing the Nigerian Local Content Act in breach, also violate the Free Zones Act (NEPZA) by not domiciling their expatriate workforce within the free zones in violation of the rules and regulations stipulated in Free Zones Act (NEPZA).To deal with such abuses, the NCDMB, it was gathered, is now set to review the Nigerian content plans, technical and commercial evaluation and issuance of Nigerian Content Certificates to sincere companies.Wabote who revealed this said, It is my belief that other agencies involved in the contracting cycle are working on their internal processes so that we can collectively work together to reduce the protracted contracting cycle, which has been identified as the main cause of the high cost per barrel of Nigerian crude in comparison to other OPEC countries.It will also help revitalize the tempo of Nigerian content implementation as investors begin to develop more confidence in the Nigerian business environment, he said.The NCDMB executive secretary further revealed that with the inauguration of the boards Governing Council by President Muhammed Buhari, the agency was now well positioned to fast track the implementation of its flagship projects, like the Nigerian Oil and Gas Parks Scheme (NOGAPS), Polaku Pipe mill and accelerated disbursement of the Nigerian Content Development Fund (NCDF) to deserving oil and gas service companies.The NCDMB, he said has also commissioned a baseline study, of which the outcome will help it develop a five-year strategic road map that will drive the new wave of Nigerian content development and implementation. The road map will also enable the board incorporate the federal governments policies captured in the Petroleum Industry Roadmap and other change initiatives of the current administration.Experts are of the opinion that indeed, there is need for accountability in the countrys oil and gas industry otherwise the weakened confidence of foreign investors would be completely eroded.They argue that when a firm makes unsubstantiated claims about competence or being a leader in a given field, yet does not have a proven track record of completed projects to back the claims, it sends negative signals to both the local and international communities and intending investors that Nigeria is a country where people care less about business best practices.This, they say, is particularly true when such bogus claims go unchallenged in the oil and gas industry where integrity and transparency are crucial. This, according to experts, not only hurts the industry but hurts the entire economy and the nation as a whole.Chidi Ahaotu, managing director of Mandi Oil and Gas told our correspondent that, it is only when cases of invalid claims in the oil and gas industry are seriously dealt with by the appropriate authorities that local and foreign investors can have confidence in the governments anti-corruption campaign.
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