Fresh concerns over rising dominance of expatriates in oil sector

By : Kingsley Jeremiah

Date: 4 December 2025 3:44am WAT

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•NASS accuses IOCs, independent firms of non-remittance The Senate has raised fresh concerns over rising expatriate dominance in the oil and gas sector, revealing that thousands of foreigners are currently occupying roles that should increasingly be handed over to qualified Nigerians.

This comes despite local content performance reaching 61 per cent, from 57 per cent in 2024, even as the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), unveiled a new $100 million Equity Investment Scheme (EIS) in partnership with the Bank of Industry (BOI).

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Content, Joel Onowakpo Thomas, speaking at the Practical Nigerian Content Forum (PNC) in Yenegoa, Bayelsa State, said most oil companies in the country are flouting local content laws and failing to remit to the Nigerian Content Development Fund (NCDF).

Some, he said, have not made any remittance since 2015.

According to him, the “era of paper compliance” with local content obligations has ended. He stressed that full enforcement is now the priority of the government.

“We are moving from paper compliance to real, measurable, verifiable enforcement. We want to see Nigerians taking over expatriate positions. It is not enough to have compliance on paper while over 10,000 expatriates continue to occupy roles Nigerians are qualified to fill,” he said.

He added that some international oil companies (IOCs) and independent operators fail to meet statutory obligations, including financial remittances. Legislative reviews, he noted, uncovered instances where companies have not contributed a single naira to the fund.

Onowakpo said operators must implement training and succession plans to ensure that Nigerians occupy all management-level positions within the next four years.

“The era of ignoring the law is over,” Onowakpo said, warning companies that have stalled localisation plans or kept expatriates in roles meant to be Nigerianised.

Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Felix Ogbe, said the new fund was part of the board’s long-term strategy to ease funding constraints faced by local operators and strengthen Nigeria’s local content framework.

Ogbe said the EIS created under the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund would significantly ease the financial burden on industry players and stimulate participation across the value chain.

“As part of our efforts to provide affordable finance for local players in the industry, we have concluded arrangements to establish the $100 million EIS in partnership with the Bank of Industry. This is a new product in our funding basket, designed to improve access to capital and enhance indigenous participation,” he said.

He further announced a major policy shift, stressing that effective 1 January 2026, NCECs and all related certificates would be non-transferable.

The move, he said, aims at ensuring that only firms with legitimate approvals can participate in tender processes, thereby deepening transparency and reinforcing the integrity of the local content framework.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government has warned that Nigeria’s manufacturing sector is losing its competitive edge as energy costs now account for 40 to 60 per cent of total production expenses of local industries.

The Minister of State for Industry, John Owan Enoh, who raised the alarm while speaking in Yenagoa yesterday, described energy as the backbone of industrial growth.

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, stressed the need to strengthen local capacity across fabrication, engineering, technology services, manufacturing of components, and research and development.

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