Senator Natasha Urges FG To Redefine Nigerian Content

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Content, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has emphasised the need to redefine Nigerian content to drive national development.

Speaking at the 13th Annual Practical Nigerian Content (PNC) forum, she stressed that Nigeria must look beyond capacity building to unlock its full potential and claim its place on the global stage.
According to Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, Nigerian content implementation must encompass innovation, sustainability, collaboration, and market expansion to drive a holistic transformation across sectors.

“For decades, Nigerian content has been synonymous with the development of local capacity in the Oil and Gas sector. We’ve emphasised skills acquisition, education, and infrastructure development, and rightly so. These efforts have laid a solid foundation. However, to unlock Nigeria’s full potential and claim our place on the global stage, we must now look beyond capacity building.

“Today, I invite us to broaden our perspective and consider how Nigerian content implementation can encompass innovation, sustainability, collaboration, and market expansion to drive a holistic transformation across sectors,” she said.

She also disclosed that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited is set to establish five mini-liquefied natural gas plants in Ajaokuta Local Government Area of Kogi.

The Kogi lawmaker said the projects would be flagged off next year, describing it as the largest concentration of such projects in one district.

“I would like to appreciate NNPC and the industry experts who have also considered and humbled us at Ajaokuta Local Government, with the (not too sure if it’s too early to speak about it), establishment of five mini LNG plants which will be flagged off early next year.”

And this is actually the largest concentration of such projects in one district in the entire country. Five, not one, two, three, four, but five mini LNG plants will be established in Ajaokuta by God’s grace next year (2025).

“That’s good news for us, good news for Nigeria. So what does that mean? This and many others are just pivotal, it’s important to know that if there’s any place in the country where we should situate a technology hub that will not only drive innovations but talk about the testing and brainstorming around the various kinds of metals and what these metals can do for the industry. It’s just Ajaokuta Local Government,“ she stated.

She stressed that for every deep water operation, rigs are utilised and the cheapest rig stands at about $10m while some go as much as $25m.

“And what actually makes up a rig? Steel. So, just imagine, count how many rigs you have in Nigerian waters. Imagine if we had those rigs manufactured in-country. That means we would have saved so much money and we would have created so many jobs,” she said.

Sen Akpoti-Uduaghan, however, proposed a comprehensive framework for national development, focusing on creating value, achieving self-reliance, and establishing a legacy of global competitiveness.

“Let’s redefine Nigerian content as more than just the transfer of skills and the localisation of supply chains in the Oil and Gas sector. Instead, we must view it as a comprehensive framework for national development. Nigerian content should focus on creating value, achieving self-reliance, and establishing a legacy of global competitiveness.

“Nigeria’s challenges — ranging from unemployment to dependence on foreign technology and underutilised resources—demand a more dynamic approach. To pave this new frontier, I propose we focus on four core areas: Policy Refinement and Strategic Enforcement, Building Competitive Ecosystems, Value Chain Optimisation, Global Market Integration and Policy Refinement and Strategic Enforcement”

“We have strong policies like the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act and the Petroleum Industry PIA but how do we ensure these policies evolve to meet the demands of a fast-changing global economy?

“Earlier this year, one of the largest syringe factories in Africa shut down in Nigeria largely because of raw materials — Polypropylene.

“Polypropylene is the primary raw material required in the production of syringes and I don’t think we have enough companies here producing it.