Petroleum Local Content Policy and Employment Generation in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria

The neglect of oil-bearing communities by government and oil multinational companies which has caused serious environmental degradation has also affected the livelihood of the communities, leading to insecurity, protests and disruption of oil operations in the Niger Delta. The government’s insincerity towards genuine local wealth creation and local workforce employment generation in the region has become a matter of great concern. It was for this reason that the Nigerian government enacted the local content (act) policy that was signed into law by former president Goodluck Jonathan in April 2010. The research highlighted the extent to which local content policy on the petroleum sector influences employment generation in the Niger Delta zone of Nigeria. To achieve this objective, one hypothesis was formulated. The survey research design was adopted and data were analyzed using the simple regressions at 0.05 level of significance. The study discovered that local content policy on the petroleum sector has greatly influenced the employment of local workforce in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. It was recommended, among others, that the government should ensure the appropriate implementation of local content policy to ensure that employment quota is strictly followed in the oil and gas sector. Also, through the Nigerian content development and monitoring board (NCDMB), the government should ensure that oil companies operating in the Niger Delta region strictly adhere to the policy of contract award to Nigerian independent operators with the view to reducing unemployment and enhancing socio-economic development in the Niger Delta region.