LADOL Boss Calls for Full Engagement of the Local Content Act

Dr. Amy Jadesimi, Managing Director Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics Base (LADOL) has said that full engagement of the Local Content Act, currently being championed in the oil industry by the Nigeria Content Development Management Board (NCDMB) would grow Nigeria’s economy .

Jadesimi stated that where Nigerians are allowed the opportunity to exhibit their talents, local content would boost the nation’s economy with reliable and cheaper production for the sustainability of any organisation during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement issued by the LADOL boss she said that Nigerians are reliable, competent, and efficient in-service delivery enough to compete favorably with their foreign counterparts at a cheaper cost.

She said that during the lockdown and through the pandemic, Nigerians have been able to handle more complex tasks efficiently.

Her words;
“Local content is the best way to go. Look at what happened during the pandemic; the oil companies and their expatriates have to send their workers back to their countries, but Nigerians and Nigeria proved themselves because things that were not supposed to be handed over to them ordinarily were later handled exclusively by Nigerians .”

Jadesimi said the offshore logistics firm was able to survive the dreaded Coronavirus pandemic in 2020 due to local capacity, adding that the company also invested hugely on infrastructure, equipment, security, and personnel.

The Managing Director reiterated that the company was keenly interested in the development of human capacity as countries like Nigeria in the future would be one of the focal points for potentials and opportunities.

She said like most businesses , LADOL is currently focused on surviving due to the pandemic, noting that year 2020 was a very tough year for investors.

“Our plans at the moment is to bring back many staff as possible as the market picks up and that is very important to us because we invest a lot on people and our staff in terms of training. There is no staff that has left that we don’t want to bring back because like I always say to people, this market is big but at the same time small.

“I think that going forward this year, we are hoping that by Q4, we will start to see some of these up-scale and that will trigger significant hiring like probably a hundred additional people based on current projection”, she stated.

While speaking on Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Jadesimi expressed hope that the trade agreement would favour Nigeria in terms of private sector participation in the market pointing out that Nigeria will not be used as a dumping ground as earlier speculated.

“It is the private sector participation that will drive the huge benefits for Nigeria and Nigerians in AFCFTA. We want to see more accountability, transparency, access to the markets and particularly with the small and medium sizes participation in the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement.
“80% of jobs will come from the small and medium size enterprises because these are the companies that will make sure that we get the maximum economic benefits from Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement.”

She however noted that with adaptation to government policies, LADOL was able to establish an isolation centre under Apapa Local Government adding that with teamwork, LADOL was able to scale through the hurdles of COVID19 .