Nigeria House Of Reps Warn Samsung, IOCs, Against Flouting Local Content Laws

House of Representatives’ Committee on Local Content has warned international oil and gas services companies, including Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) of South Korea against flouting the Nigerian Local Content laws.

The committee said it strongly opposed a situation where foreign oil firms and their cohorts exceed expatriate quota and breaking other rules that are contained in the Nigerian Content Act, adding that it would not allow any infractions on the Act to go unpunished.

The Committee’s Chairman, Hon Emmanuel Ekon, while speaking on the side-line of tour of LADOL Free Trade Zone in Lagos by the committee, said no efforts would be spared on ensuring that foreign-owned firms comply with all known local content rules in Nigeria.

He said the committee would sanction any non-compliant firm irrespective of its investments in the country.

Ekon said: “The fact that Samsung partner LADOL to build multi-billion dollar Total Egina Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel in Nigeria does not confer on it the right to violate the laws of the land. The committee is not out to witch-hunt any firm, but it was only doing its job of implementing laws for the growth of country.”

According to him, monopoly is the bane of the Nigerian economy, adding that local operators in the petroleum industry have shown that they cannot be put aside by their foreign counterparts. Ekon said the committee would use its legislative instruments to protect indigenous operators in the oil sector and others.

“The indigenous companies have shown that they have the capacity to grow the economy. LADOL is one of such firms. The company has demonstrated faith in Nigeria by investing over $600million in the country. Besides, LADOL has built a fabrication yard of its zone. The yard has employed 2,500 jobs and helped in developing skills.  The major goal of LADOL is to provide 50,000 direct and indirect jobs and the firm is working hard to achieve this. That is why stakeholders must join forces together to support LADOL and other companies that have shown the desire to promote the nation’s economy,” he added.

He berated Nigerians, who have lots of money in banks abroad because they help in promoting foreign economies to the detriment of Nigeria.

Also, the acting Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Mr. Daziba Patrick Obah, urged local investors to invest in Nigeria, stressing that they stand to gain a lot by doing so. He said with the local content law, indigenous firms are sure of getting good returns on investment.

Obah said: “The Board, the House of Representatives Committee on Local Content and other relevant stakeholders are out to promote indigenous investment.  We would do all we can to support local operators with a view to developing the nation’s economy.  The Board, for instance, has taken a decision to open office in LADOL base. It is part of efforts to promote local content,” he said.

The Managing Director of Lagos Offshore Logistics (LADOL), Dr. Amy Jadesimi said the ongoing  Egina  FPSO project and others in the zone, are undertaken by LADOL and its partners in order to make Nigeria oil and gas hub in West Africa and Africa.

Credit:Nation