Commentary on the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Bill, 2023
The Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Bill, 2023 (NOGICD Bill or “the Bill”) is pending before the National Assembly and it proposes to repeal the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, 2010 (NOGICDA or “the Act”). The Act was enacted to, amongst other objectives, encourage continuous growth of Nigerian content in the country’s oil and gas industry. It established the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB or “the Board”) which is saddled with the responsibility of implementing the provisions of the Act.
In 2019, the National Assembly (NASS) attempted to repeal the Act through the introduction of Nigerian Local Content Development and Enforcement Commission Bill, 2020 (NLCDEC Bill) which proposed the expansion of Nigerian Content (NC) to the petroleum, solid minerals mining, construction, power, information and communications technology, manufacturing, and health sectors. Unfortunately, the NLCDEC Bill was not signed into law.
The NOGICD Bill, therefore, represents a second attempt to repeal the Act and the Bill seeks to provide the legal framework, structure and programmes for the overall development of NC in the Nigerian oil and gas industry. Amongst other objectives, the Bill seeks to develop domestic capabilities in the oil and gas value chain through education, skills transfer and expertise development, transfer of technology and knowhow, and active research and development programmes.
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