Local Content Has Become Nigeria’s Most Successful Industrial Policy – Sen. Lee Maeba
Senator Lee Maeba, former Chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources in the 5th and 6th Senate, has declared that Nigeria’s Local Content Act now stands as the country’s most successful industrial policy, transforming the nation from a dependent consumer of foreign capacity to a competitive hub of indigenous technical expertise.
Speaking at the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board Academy Lecture Series on Wednesday, December 10, 2025, Senator Maeba said the Act has rewritten Nigeria’s industrial story and delivered the highest measurable impact in national capacity development since independence.
He said that 15 years ago Nigeria had no structured industrial direction and foreign companies dictated the entire value chain from engineering to fabrication and from marine logistics to project management.
He explained that this situation has changed as Nigerians now fabricate modules, build vessels, execute complex engineering and retain value that once escaped the economy. According to him, local content is not about exclusion but empowerment and about helping Nigerian companies develop strong enough capacity to compete globally.
Senator Maeba credited the Act with the growth of indigenous fabrication yards, stronger marine logistics firms, improved engineering training and the rise of training facilities that now supply skilled manpower across the energy sector. He noted that before the Act less than five percent of industry value stayed in the country but that Nigeria is now retaining far more and building competencies that were once unthinkable.
He warned that the law must be expanded urgently to remain relevant in a fast-changing global energy landscape. He said the Act should cover gas, renewables, hydrogen, modular refineries, carbon capture, digital energy solutions and other emerging technologies in order to protect Nigeria’s future.
He added that the next phase of local content should focus on exporting Nigerian knowledge and services to other African markets rather than limiting capacity to domestic needs. He said the next 15 years must produce exportable Nigerian expertise and make Nigeria a country others come to for engineering, fabrication, digital operations and energy solutions.
Senator Maeba called for strengthening the Nigerian Content Development Fund to help indigenous businesses acquire modern equipment, build technology partnerships and compete globally.
He urged stronger compliance enforcement so that the gains achieved so far are not eroded and warned that the Act must not become ineffective. He also commended the NCDMB for its leadership in capacity building, monitoring and developing infrastructure such as the NOGAPS industrial parks which he said stand as monuments to the success of Nigerian content. Industry leaders at the event described his lecture as one of the most comprehensive reviews of the Local Content Act in recent years and noted that his proposals align with Nigeria’s aspiration to build a diversified and resilient energy economy.
