‘FG’s Local Content Policy Creating Opportunities for Indigenous Firms’

Peter Uzoho

The Group Chief Executive Officer of Oando Plc, Mr. Adewale Tinubu has said that the federal government provided an enabling environment and access to business opportunities for indigenous companies in the country through its local content policy.

Tinubu, according to a statement by Oando, stated this while speaking during a high-level public-private sector roundtable at the second edition of the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) held in Duban, South Africa.

The roundtable focused on aligning the interests of government and the private sector on intra-African trade and investment.
Tinubu, whose company co-sponsored the IATF with Dangote Group, stated that collaboration was crucial to the achievement of the goals and objectives of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

The Oando boss, who attended the fair with the Chief Operating Officer of Oando Energy Resources, Dr Ainojie Irune, noted that public-private partnership (PPP) in Nigeria enjoys solid support from the government.

He said: “When we wanted to create indigenous success stories, an enabling environment was provided for us via local content and access to opportunities. We were able to create a collaborative approach by creating policies that worked without ruling out opportunities.

“For example, we built extensive gas pipelines within the country, and we had the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) set up appropriate financial structures. I believe the same principles apply on a continental scale, in the sense that President Muhammadu Buhari has set lofty ideal for us regarding international trade.”

Speaking on a panel session themed: “Optimising the Gains of the AfCFTA in the Context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution”, Irune stated that re-skilling and education of the future workforce were critical to creating the much-needed foundation to ensure Africa was not left behind.

The panel discussed the policy and regulatory framework required to develop digital ecosystems that will encourage significant economic growth and development in Africa.

The Oando COO noted that digitalisation and its attendant disruptive technologies was fundamentally changing existing business models, production processes, value chains, skills development and trade across the world.