News

April 27, 2012

Group advocates local content policy in telecom sector

By Nnamdi Ojiego
The Youths Arise for Nigeria, YAN, has urged the Federal Government to replicate  the local content policy introduced in the oil and gas sector in the telecommunications sector to empower and generate employment for youths.

National Publicity Secretary of the organisation, Liborous Oshoma,  said since 10 years of telecommunication operation in Nigeria, none of the operators could boast of encouraging local industrialization that would help promote manufacturing or fabrication of equipment for building towers, shelters or telephones locally.

He said foreign operators had deliberately refused to invest or encourage local industries to either manufacture or fabricate equipment locally in their home country.

He said that such deliberate action by foreign operators had resulted in job losses, capital flight, gradual phasing out of the local service industry in the telecom sector, erosion of in-country service market, among others.