The Local Content Development and Enforcement Bill 2020 (HB.837) recently passed its second reading in the House of Representatives and was subsequently referred to the Committee on Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring for further consideration.

The bill seeks to amend the Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act by expanding its scope to capture changes in the industry. Specifically, the bill proposes to:

  • create a Nigerian Content Council, to be headed by the vice president;
  • deduct 2% from every contract awarded in Nigeria for the development of local content;
  • ensure that no non-citizen is allowed to do a job in Nigeria that can be done by a Nigerian citizen. Where a gap exists, there must be modalities to bridge that gap by creating jobs;
  • build local companies' capacity to compete not only in Nigeria, but also abroad; and
  • ensure the patronage of goods made in Nigeria.