Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Registrar of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) and a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Prof. Okorie Uche, yesterday called for greater use of local content policies to strengthen Nigeria’s economy, create jobs, and promote industrialisation.

In his remarks as the keynote speaker at the 2025 Annual Workshop of the Nigerian Content Development Committee (NCDC) held in Abuja, Uche said local content remains a powerful tool for driving sustainable growth if effectively implemented across all sectors.

He explained that despite Nigeria’s vast human and natural resources, much of the country’s economic value is lost through foreign dominance of supply chains and import dependence. He therefore urged the government and private sector to prioritise Nigerian skills, materials, and enterprises in all procurement and project planning processes.

“Local content is not nationalism for its own sake; it is a pragmatic strategy for retaining value, building domestic capacity, and promoting innovation.

“President Bola Tinubu’s administration has already demonstrated commitment through policies like the ‘Nigeria First’ procurement policy; we must now scale that commitment across agriculture, ICT, manufacturing, and construction,” he said.

The workshop’s theme was: “Strengthening Nigeria’s Domestic Business Development: Leveraging Local Content Principles for Sustainable Economic Growth”.

Uche identified capacity building, access to finance, and technology transfer as critical enablers of local participation, while urging stronger institutional oversight to ensure transparency and accountability in implementation.

In her opening remarks, NSE President, Margaret Oguntala, commended the NCDC for its continued role in promoting indigenous participation in engineering and policy development.

She described the workshop’s theme based on strengthening Nigeria’s domestic business development and leveraging local content principles for sustainable economic growth, as timely, saying it aligns with the NSE’s mission to deepen economic resilience through local expertise and innovation.

Oguntala highlighted the NSE’s collaboration with the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), explaining that such synergy enhances indigenous participation across industries.

“The NCDC holds a crucial position as the think-tank of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE). Through its work, the Society continues to advance key objectives that are central to the growth of our profession and the development of our country.

“These objectives include: Promoting local content participation; enhancing indigenous; capacity; advocating for effective policy implementation; encouraging technology transfer; fostering collaboration; supporting economic development, and ensuring the highest professional standards in engineering practice.

Earlier, Chairman of the NCDC, Nnanna Ukaegbu, said the committee remains committed to identifying opportunities for Nigerian engineers and fostering an enabling environment for technology-driven investment.

According to him, the organisation is the Presidential Committee responsible for identifying and collating business opportunities for Nigerian engineers; and creating an enabling environment for investors to engage with engineering inventors and innovators towards the commercialisation of their inventions within the framework of supportive government laws, policies and guidelines.

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