Local Content: Nigeria Rejects 328 Expatriate Requests from Oil Firms in 12 Months

•NCDMB insists on achieving 70% Nigerian content by 2027

Peter Uzoho

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has revealed that it rejected 328 expatriate applications from oil and gas companies, an action that enabled the agency to achieve 83 per cent implementation of its 10-Year Strategic Roadmap spanning 2017 to 2027.

The NCDMB, however, insisted on achieving 70 per cent Nigerian Content target in the country’s oil and gas by the next four years.

The Manager in charge of Strategy Development and Information at NCDMB, Mr. Olubisi Okunola, disclosed this yesterday in Lagos, at the capacity building workshop for media stakeholders, with the theme: “The Strategic Role of the Media in Sustaining Nigerian Content Legacies.”

He maintained that the board received more applications for expatriates quota increase in 2023 than in 2022, leading to more rejection in 2023 than in 2022.

Giving the latest Nigerian Content data, Okunola said; “In 2023, 1484 applications for expatriates were received by the board, 1156 requests granted, while 328 applications were rejected.

“Compare this to 2022 data, there were 1125 applications, 943 requests granted, while 172 applications were denied.”

Similarly, the General Manager, Corporate Communications and Zonal Coordination, NCDMB, Mr. Esueme Dan Kikile, said the board has achieved “83 per cent level for its 10-year roadmap.”