Provide 1000 annual internships for Nigerian students, Senator Natasha urges IOCs

By Iyojo Ameh

The Senator representing kogi central Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has urged International Oil Companies (IOCs) to provide a minimum of 1,000 internship slots for Nigerian students as part of their institutional strengthening programme.

She made the call during an interface with the board members of Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).

She expressed concern over the lack of open internship opportunities in oil and gas companies for Nigerian students to enhance their career-building skills and grow professional network.

Furthermore, she urged NCDMB to engage with the IOCs and allied companies to devise means of supporting Start-Ups by promoting innovation competitions and Hackathons.

During the meeting, she restated the that NCDMB Act mandates that all IOCs reserve 3% of contracts worth 1 million to 100 billion dollars; 2% for contracts worth 100 billion to 500 billion dollars, and 1% of the contract value should be set aside for contracts of 500 billion dollars and above for human capacity development.

These funds, according to her, are designated for three main purposes: Institutional strengthening, which accounts for 60% of the total amount, training of auxiliary services which accounts for 20%, and professional training, which also accounts for 20%.

Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan commended the NCDMB for responding positively to the Local Content Committee’s documentation request and submitting extensive list of documents. “This would accord us a chance to audit the Boards activities and appropriate projects accordingly”.

She also requested the list of all ongoing and about-to-be-embarked-upon projects to which the NCDMB responded affirmatively.