By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has promised to stop operators in the oil and gas industry from importing personal protective clothing otherwise called coveralls as there exist sufficient local production capacity.
NCDMB described the importation of items like coverall as a negation of the tenets of the Nigerian Content Act.
Speaking last Thursday at the commissioning of Kay Global Garment Factory in Warri, Delta State, the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Wabote, promised to “ensure that players in the oil and gas industry stop immediate importation of coveralls. We will clamp down on companies that import these materials that can be produced in Nigeria.”
Mr Wabote, represented at the event by the Director of Monitoring and Evaluation of the agency, Mr Tunde Adelana, commended Kay-Global Wears Company, saying it is a “bold statement that Nigerians still have faith in the oil and gas industry and are willing to invest their funds in new plants and projects despite the low price of crude oil and other challenges facing the sector.”
He said the facility contributes to the Board’s vision of using Nigerian Content as a platform to industrialize Nigeria and create jobs and training opportunities for Nigerians.
In his welcome address, the Managing Director of Kay-Global Wears Company, Mr Kayode Alagbajo, commended the Board for its support, revealing plans to increase the company’s staff strength from 30 to 500. He noted that the company’s new factory will be commissioned in 2017 and it will produce 2000 coveralls per day.
Adedapo Adesanya