Alarm raised over multinationals derailing Nigeria's local content policy

Indigenous contractors in the oil and gas sector of the country under the auspices of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) have raised an alarm over what they termed the ploy by multinationals to drive them out of business and derail the local content policy.
Raising the alarm during an interactive session with newsmen in Port Harcourt, the President of the Association, Chief Shawley Coker, said the multinationals have been paying lip service to the local content policy and called for a reversal of the trend. He pointed out that the capacity building programmes were deliberately not being well executed so that the importation of skilled hands which can be locally trained would continue while every effort was being made to ensure that indigenous firms continued to bear the consequences.

He lamented that members execute contracts at old rates and are forced to either do the jobs or leave them, adding, "Now the rules have changed and they want to strangulate us out of business".
According to him, "On one hand, the multinationals are preaching local content and on the other hand they are strangulating us. If they are committed to the policy, they should do the conferences here instead of carrying out the sensitization abroad where the policy is not operating".

He particularly lamented the debt being owed PETAN members for nearly one year for contracts executed without payment, saying that some of the companies have resorted to owing and laying off their workforce.
"You work and you are not paid within time, how are you supposed to hire equipment, how are you supposed to pay staff salaries. If your company is owed for eight months and you borrowed money from the bank to execute the contract with all the high interest rate, how do you expect them to survive", he queried.

On the effect of the attitude of the oil majors on the success of the local content policy, Chief Coker said that unless there was a change in attitude, the future was bleak even in the face of the demonstration of the capabilities of local companies to handle certain jobs which they have technical competence in.
Asked whether Nigeria could achieve the 70 % target by 2010, he replied, "70 % local content in 2010 is not feasible. If you do not create the infrastructure to support that, how can it be achievable? You have to work everything out yourself".
On how to build real capacity, he said rather than some of the oil companies building outdated school structures and hospitals which they would not allow their family members to attend, it would be better that resources were pulled together to build modern facilities that would meet global standards.

Also speaking at the occasion, Publicity Secretary of PETAN, Chief Bank Anthony Okorafor, said they were not asking the multinationals to stop business but at least to give local firms with proven competence the chance to stay in business. He said that having part of the over N 45 bn spent in the sector circulating within the country would generate employment, build capacity and enable infrastructural development.
He said that most of the jobs that were hitherto done abroad were being competently handled by their members and called on the federal government to rise up and ensure that their efforts were not stifled by the business interest of others.