Place restrictions on foreign trainings, OGTAN urges FG

OIL and Gas Trainers Association of Nigeria, OGTAN, has called on the Federal Government and the National Assembly to compel and discourage companies operating in the country from conducting trainings for their personnel outside the shores of the country.

Speaking during a visit to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu, President of OGTAN, Mr. Afe Mayowa, stated that conducting such trainings outside the country is hurting the Nigerian economy and is encouraging massive capital flight.

He stated: “The country is losing tremendously. The reason is that Nigeria has to be very patriotic. For example, the economy of Dubai and Ghana are being been boosted by Nigerian companies taking Nigerian trainings, taking Nigerian personnel to Ghana, with Nigerian instructors, with Nigerian participants to Ghana to train. Most times, these people go for shopping not for training.

“This is something that government must stop because that action gives boost to the economy of Ghana and the only simple reasons people does that is because they want to get estacode and we are bleeding because of that running down our economy.

“Taking training to Dubai and Ghana, I think the house should find a way of stopping some of these things. This is because they are killing the Nigerian economy. The effect of that is tremendous on our economy.”

He further called on the Federal Government and the National Assembly to ensure that in line with the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB, Act, mandate all oil and gas companies operating in Nigeria to patronize and make OGTAN members as a pre-requisite for registering and handling in the country.

He also called on the Federal Government to partner with the association in the training and development of host community youths in line with NNPC quest for peace in oil and gas host communities.

In his response, Kachikwu, who was represented by Mr. Olusegun Adekunle, Director, Planning, Research and Statistics in the Ministry of Petroleum, said the various policy documents already put forward by the Ministry would benefit OGTAN in no small measure.

Source: Vanguard