In continuation of its drive for the growth and development of the maritime industry, the Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dakuku Peterside has inaugurated an inter-agency committee on local content development.
Peterside stated that the vision of the Nigerian local content is to transform the maritime and oil and gas industry by developing in-country capacity and indigenous capabilities of high international standards resulting in significant employment and wealth creation.
The Committee which is made up of members from NIMASA and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) is expected to develop appropriate framework in areas such as; collaboration on promotion of investment in vessel construction, repairs and maintenance capability, proliferation of expatriate crew on vessels working in Nigeria and maritime training, sea-time and certification for Nigerians amongst others.
According to the DG, with the passage of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act 2010, NIMASA and NCDMB are joined by the S.105 of the Act to enforce compliance as two Government Agencies charged with the responsibility of building capacity and regulating Local capacity utilization in two critical interlinked segments of the Nigerian economy.
Peterside who was represented by the Executive Director, Finance and Administration of NIMASA Mr. Bashir Jamoh also maintained that as a guideline for collaboration, cooperation and coordination the provisions of the Coastal and Inland Shipping (Cabotage) Act 2003 and the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act 2010 with regards to Oil and Gas industry must be enforced.
“The significance of the Oil and Gas Industry to the Nigerian economy cannot be over-emphasized. The need for more collaboration is to forge a common front with a view to enforcing the Local Content Obligations. The bedrock of our collaboration with NCDMB is therefore to close all gaps and loopholes that may be exploited to weaken the efforts of government by operators.
We believe that with the inter-agency collaboration we will put the local capacity in place to achieve the desired level of value retention especially in the wake of anticipated investment opportunities,” the DG said.
The DG urged members of the committee to make every sacrifice that will guarantee the success of the collaboration, which is for the benefit of the nation.
On his part, the Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Simbi Wabote stated that the partnership is a welcome development and expressed optimism that it will yield the desired results.
He also called on all parties involved to work assiduously towards achieving the objectives within set timelines, mindful of the terms of reference.
According to Engr. Wabote, “NCDMB was established to promote the participation of Nigerian interests, businesses, services and manpower in all activities in the Nigerian oil and gas industry. These are aspirations and goals I believe we share with NIMASA”
The collaboration between both Agencies is pursuant to Section 105 of the NOGICD Act (2010) which states that “NCDMB in conjunction with NIMASA shall have powers to enforce compliance with relevant sections of the Coastal and Inland Shipping Act (Cabotage) in relation to matters pertaining to Nigerian Content Development”.