By Emem Idio, Yenagoa

YENAGOA- THE Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB, has stressed the need for security agencies to collaborate with the Board to enforce the “Nigerian Content” as provided in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, NOGICD.

Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Mr Simbi Wabote, made the call in his key note address at the “Nigerian Content” sensitization programme for law enforcement agencies at the NCDMB Towers, Yenagoa, on Tuesday.

Among participants take took part in the sensitization programme which had as its theme, “Deploying Multi-Institutioal Approach to Nigerian Content Enforcement in the Oil and Gas industry,” were officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, The Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, the Department of State Services, DSS, the Joint Tasks Force Operation, Delta Safe, the Nigeria Police, and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, among others.

According to Wabote, the Board was already working with immigration service on expatriate quota applications and approvals, and the Nigerian Customs Service on importation for oil and gas equipments, stressing that one of the achievements of the Board was the encouragement if domestication and manufacture of oil and gas equipments and materials in-country.

As stakeholders in the enforcement of the Nigerian Content, Wabote pointed out that adequate understanding for the of security agencies to understand their roles in the enforcement of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, NOGICD, to foster collaboration with the Board, adding that building collaboration with institutions was one of the mandate of the Board.

He said: “I think the most important thing is to enlighten stakeholders on what we do, how we do it and the results we have been able to achieve, and then giving the participants, that is the law enforcement agents, highlight to them their role that they are required to play when it is needed.

“For example, the EFCC ,the law provides for people complying with laws and laws are laws and if there is a breach you need the authority to help you go after these people, so that’s part of the law that most of them maybe the DSS, ICPC, as the case maybe.

“For the expatriate quota, we don’t give expatraite quotas but we endorse in accordance with the laws, we approve request from the oil and gas industry and work with the Immigration Service, to ensure that the expatraite quotas that we give approval are those that are granted permit, and we go through the biometric process to ensure that we monitor those that were approved.”

In his remarks, The Head Legal Services, NCDMB, Mr. Naboth Onyesoh, said the essence of the workshop is to assure and ensure that relevant stakeholders are brought to support in local content implementation and enforcement.

He said: “We know oil and gas remains the main stay of our economy, so is important that other agencies that are connected with economic activities understand what the mandate of the Board, and where they can support to ensure compliance with relevant requirements with the oil and gas industry, so that there will be able to partner with the Board and collaborate to achieve collective impact in local content in the oil and gas industry.”