An industrial law expert    on Tuesday urged the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) to consider joint ventures between local and foreign insurers in the implementation of the Nigeria Oil and Gas Local Content Development Act, 2010.

Prof. Chioma Agomo made the plea in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos. Agomo said that her advice had become imperative to avoid the mistakes made in the implementation of the Cabotage Act, 2003.

The Local Content Development Act provides the legal framework for the development of indigenous content in the Nigerian Oil and Gas industry by giving priority to indigenous service providers.

The Act also gives NAICOM power to waive some aspects of the Act and invite foreign insurers if it found out that the local insurers could not meet with the financial capacity to insure a particular risk. Agomo, a lecturer at the Department of Commercial and Industrial Law, University of Lagos, said that the challenges of the Cabotage Act were still on waiver and disbursement of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF).

“For the implementation of the Nigeria Oil and Gas Content Development Act, 2010 as it concerns the insurance industry to be effective, NAICOM should be wary of waiver and insist on joint ventures. This is because the challenges of the Cabotage Act are still on waiver and disbursement of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF),” she said.

Agomo said that this had been the case in spite of the National Maritime Administration and Safety (NIMASA) efforts to enforce the Cabotage Law.

According to her, implementation of the Cabotage Act left a gap between the law and what obtained in practice. She said that the idea of making the cabotage law to gradually build indigenous capacity and take full control of the market over a period of time had yet to be realised.

Agomo urged NAICOM to encourage consolidation and syndication within the industry and partnership with tertiary institutions for manpower training in the short- and long-term degrees and professional certification courses. She said that the commission should also consult all stakeholders before taking critical decisions to cede to external insurer or re-insurer