ABUJA—ACTING President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan is set to sign into law a Bill on the Nigerian Content  in the Oil and Gas sector.

The law would establish a local content commission to be predominantly staffed by citizens from the Niger Delta region.

The law draws out a Nigerian content plan for supervision, coordination, monitoring and implementation of Nigerian content and for matters incidental to it.

The House of Representatives sub-committee Chairman on Local Content, Tamarautare Brisibe, PDP/Burutu/Delta, told newsmen in Abuja that the law would help in addressing militancy, youth restiveness and kidnapping in the area.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/04/05/jonathan-set-to-sign-local-content-bill/

Brisibe who said the law would lead to the employment of many jobless citizens of the zone, noted that the Acting President would “write his name in gold,” if he gave his assent to the bill, as the piece of legislation would hasten development of the oil and gas industry.

He said: “The law provides that all international oil companies, IOC, operating in the Niger Delta shall necessarily establish offices in their host communities, which must employ a particular percentage of indigenous youth thereby ending idleness.”

Noting that the law has protected the interest of Nigerians, he stressed: “where applicable before carrying out any work or activity in Nigeria, the operator who submits a plan shall establish in the project’s catchment area, a project office where management and procurement decision making process are to take place, to the satisfaction of the Board.”

Opportunities in oil producing areas
He added that “where Nigerians are not employed because of their lack of training, the operator shall ensure, to the satisfaction of the Board that every reasonable effort was made within a reasonable time to supply such training locally or elsewhere.”

Brisibe said the law also had the potentials of engendering employment opportunities in the oil producing communities and Nigeria as a whole, adding that section 31 (1) of the proposed law posits that “for each of its operations, the operator shall submit to the Board a succession plan for any position not held by Nigerians.

Such succession plans shall provide for Nigerians to understudy each incumbent expatriate for a maximum period of four years. At the end of the four year period the position shall become Nigerianized. All Nigerianized positions shall attract salaries, wages and benefits as provided for in the operator’s conditions of service for Nigerian employees.

Correct me if i'm wrong, but as good as this may sound for the Niger deltans, this same situation has been causing a lot of problems with the Hausas. This so called quota system.

It will encourage mediocrity if you know that you will definitely get a job just by belonging to the ND region despite competing with better qualified graduates from other parts of the country.

I will always stand for "let the better man do the job" rather than attaching sentiments to appointments.

We had the same problem with the Yaradua/Jonathan situation.

I believe the Niger Delta deserves more than a consolation price. We need real development in there.

P.S. if the only things that can come out from your mouth are insults, PLEASE don't reply to me.

@Ziga
Bear in mind that the Niger Delta is by far the most polluted oil producing region in the WHOLE WORLD; the alternative is payment of compensation. It is obvious that Nigeria cannot afford that, plus it would be unfair to other regions who like the ND, haven't benefitted from our oil wealth, and thats because 99% of it goes straight into private pockets.

So leave matter for mata.

Ziga,

There are so many qualified Nigerians and Niger Deltans to occupy such positions. It is not new, in the UK you dont get a work permit to do a job that a British can do. A company must prove that they could not find a suitably qualified British to do the job before the Home Office can approve hiring a non EU. - It is thesame thing. I have worked in the Nigeria Ol industry wih lots of oyibos, some of them are college graduate and they come to manage me with MEng, now I manage them in thier own country

Signing the bill is the right thing to do

adejonny:

Ziga,

There are so many qualified Nigerians and Niger Deltans to occupy such positions. It is not new, in the UK you dont get a work permit to do a job that a British can do. A company must prove that they could not find a suitably qualified British to do the job before the Home Office can approve hiring a non EU. - It is thesame thing. I have worked in the Nigeria Ol industry wih lots of oyibos, some of them are college graduate and they come to manage me with MEng, now I manage them in thier own country

Signing the bill is the right thing to do

This kind of thing is definitely wrong, and i guess that is the reason for the bill. I was making a case for equally or better qualified graduates who compete for positions with ND grads.

With the extremist ways of Nigerians, i just have a feeling that this police might end up becoming abused

Beaf:

@Ziga
Bear in mind that the Niger Delta is by far the most polluted oil producing region in the WHOLE WORLD; the alternative is payment of compensation. It is obvious that Nigeria cannot afford that, plus it would be unfair to other regions who like the ND, haven't benefitted from our oil wealth, and thats because 99% of it goes straight into private pockets.

So leave matter for mata.

It might be a good policy for now when things are unstable, and the ND population is being marginalized.

But looking far into the future, it might not be too good for healthy competition and productivity.

Take the UK for instance where foreigners with very good qualifications are working in unspecialized positions.

ziga:

It might be a good policy for now when things are unstable, and the ND population is being marginalized.

But looking far into the future, it might not be too good for healthy competition and productivity.

Take the UK for instance where foreigners with very good qualifications are working in unspecialized positions.

Oil is going to dry up very soon, so those positions and any other means of compensation will not last long, therefore looking any distance into the future is not helpful. The options on the table right now are affordable to the country and the easiest way out for us all. The damage to the Niger Delta has to be paid for, there are high levels of skin deceases, cancers, asthma and other respiratory deceases affecting large proportions of the ND population due to polution; employment will not cure this things, just as it won't repair the damaged ecosystem.
If anything, the Niger Delta is really losing out out, the current initiatives are just damage limitation.

I honestly don't believe quota system is the way forward and is something we should be trying to deconstruct with regards to the Nigerian situation. It would have made more sense to sign into law a bill which actually begins to hold oil companies accountable for environmental degradation and oil spills, this just seems like a very very cowardly way out and once again ignoring the problem. Wasn't the gas flaring deadline about two or even three years ago? Don't oil companies still flare gas that can be used to actually generate power? Wasn't a major excuse for not being able to reach the 6000mW goal for power generation given as unavailability of gas? Johnathan Goodluck what on earth are you doing? Whatever happened to electoral reforms?