Better and Enforced Local Content Act Promotes National Dev’t–Engr. Dr. Ali | The Liberator
From Bulou Kosin
Engr Dr. Sony Emeka Ali, a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Civil Engineers (FNICE) says Engineers are social enablers or catalysts, bureaucratic servants and guardians whose adequate involvement in the Nigerian Local Content Law will promote national development.
Ali made the assertion during a lecture titled “Empowering the Nigerian Engineer Through the Inclusion of Infrastructure Design, Supervision and Project Management in the Nigerian Local Content Act which he delivered at a Zoom seminar recently organised by the Engr. Benjamin Ozobeme-led Warri branch of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE).
He said contract tendering and procurement processes that are open, transparent and in keeping with the spirit of the Nigerian Local Content Law will boost indigenous engineering growth.
Ali said the proper inclusion of role for Nigerian Engineers could result in better employment and human capacity development as well as increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for Nigeria.
“Expanding the local content act to cover critical sectors such as energy, transportation, steel would do the country good”, Ali said, adding: “A state of emergency should be declared in our Iron and Steel Sector to boost its material availability instead of sourcing them overseas”.
The engineering expert further advised “injection of loans to activate Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SME) from the Central Bank of Nigeria” which he said was what Brazil did to achieve its present fourteen million SMEs.
He also advocated for “a neutral organization financed by government and multinationals which should constantly train engineers, technicians and artisans with a view to boosting capacity”.
