Senate vows crackdown on IOCs violating local content laws

Senate President Godswill Akpabio and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas. CREDIT: National Assembly/X

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The Senate Committee on Local Content has warned that international oil companies and other operators breaching Nigeria’s local content laws will face unprecedented scrutiny, as the National Assembly moves to enforce a new era of strict compliance across the industry.

Chairman of the committee, Senator Joel-Onowakpo Thomas, speaking at the 14th Annual Practical Nigerian Content Forum in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, on Tuesday, said there was a “systemic failure” in adhering to the promotion of local content in Nigeria, despite decades of oil production and the existence of robust legal frameworks.

He declared that the Senate had entered what he called “a new phase of local content compliance enforcement”, stressing that the time for lax monitoring was over.

“For years, the laws have been clear, the NOGICD Act, the Nigeria First Policy, and Presidential Executive Order No. 5 were enacted to ensure that Nigerians participate actively and benefit meaningfully from the wealth generated in our economy.

“The intention was not ambiguous. The mandate was not optional. And today, the time for half-measures is over,” he declared.

Thomas warned operators that the senate would not allow violations to continue unchecked, adding, “As I have said repeatedly, we are moving from paper compliance to real, measurable, verifiable enforcement. This is about fairness, discipline, and national interest. But partnership cannot mean permissiveness. Cooperation cannot mean compromise of the law.”

He emphasised that investors were welcome, but never at the expense of Nigerians: “We want investors to thrive, but not at the expense of Nigerian jobs, Nigerian capacity, Nigerian companies, or Nigeria’s economic sovereignty. The laws are clear. And the laws must be obeyed.”

The senator stated that the committee had already taken concrete steps, writing to IOCs, other oil and gas companies, and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board demanding full disclosures.

“Over the past months, the Senate Committee on Local Content has taken decisive action. We have written to operators, IOCs and other oil and gas companies and the NCDMB, demanding full disclosure and submission of critical information and documents. Where there are gaps, inconsistencies, or red flags, we will summon operators and regulators.

Where investigative hearings are necessary, we will conduct them. Work has commenced, and let me assure you, we will not let up,” he stressed.

Thomas also revealed ongoing collaboration with labour unions to name and shame violators.

“We are also collaborating with the Nigeria Labour Congress to address these abuses and shame companies who are wilfully undermining and short-changing Nigerian citizens from benefiting from the intent of all the laws and presidential executive orders,” he warned.

A major concern, the senator noted, was the widespread abuse of Human Capital Development funds.

“One of the most abused areas of compliance has been Human Capital Development. The NOGICD Act mandates that 1–3 per cent of the value of every oil and gas project above $1m must be dedicated to capacity development for Nigerians. This provision is not decorative. It is not aspirational. It is not voluntary,” he warned.

He also expressed deep worry that Nigeria remained behind in local content after decades of oil extraction.

“I am very happy because this year’s discourse intends to address the gap in local content development in Nigeria, but sadly, after 65 years of the discovery and exploration of crude oil in Nigeria and after the enactment of the NOGICD Act in 2010, we are still way, way behind in local content development in Nigeria,” he regretted.

The senator stressed that the committee was already reviewing Nigerian content plans, waivers granted, compliance frameworks and other obligations required of operators.

“As a committee, we have started a comprehensive review of these concerns. We are examining Nigerian Content Plans, waivers granted, and compliance frameworks submitted by companies and agencies. Wherever there are gaps, we will engage. Wherever there is negligence, we will act. And wherever the law is being ignored, we will correct it.

“Everyone has a role, and everyone will be held accountable,” he noted.

On reporting violations, he urged Nigerians to make use of the committee’s channels.

The lawmaker also reaffirmed the commitment of President Bola Tinubu to strengthening Nigerian participation in the economy.

“Let me reaffirm the commitment of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu, to growing local capacity. Growing local capacity is the sure way to create employment for our teeming graduates and artisans.

“As industry operators, we cannot blame the Federal Government for the unemployment when we are the ones aiding and abetting those who are determined to bypass the law.

“Never again will jobs meant for our people be outsourced to expatriates,” he stressed, adding further that the Senate will continue the work with firmness and transparency, ensuring that local content is not a slogan but a lived economic reality.

“We will safeguard the interests of every stakeholder, both foreign and local. We will ensure that Nigerians are not spectators in their own economy. This is our mandate. This is our responsibility. And this is what we will continue to do without hesitation and without compromise,” he submitted.

However, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, said services that could not be provided locally would be sourced out to foreigners.

According to Lokpobiri, the only reason for granting waivers in some cases was because the country lacks local capacity to handle some projects in the oil and gas sector.

He mentioned that a number of local service providers are operating like middlemen, outsourcing contracts won locally to foreign companies, thereby making the cost of production higher in Nigeria.

The oil minister stated that the Tinubu administration had appealed to top foreign engineering, procurement, and construction companies to return to Nigeria.

These EPC companies, he said, left Nigeria because of the misunderstanding of the local content laws, saying, “They are coming back to Nigeria.”

He said NCDMB survives when there are projects, as that is the only way to make money for the board.

“If there are no projects, NCDMB will die. The management and staff of NCDMB must be enablers of projects,” he said.

Lokpobiri added that the executive and the National Assembly would meet to iron out issues concerning the local content regulations in Nigeria.

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