Local content policy inspired by China, says Jonathan

Nigeria has unveiled plans to reduce its long-standing trade deficit with China by taking fuller advantage of Beijing’s zero-tariff policy and expanding the volume of goods exported to the Asian economic giant.

The commitment was outlined by Nigeria’s Ambassador to China, Abdulrahman Dambazau, during an interview with members of the Nigerian delegation attending the African Mainstream Media Workshop organised by the International Department of the Communist Party of China in Beijing yesterday.

Dambazau said commercial exchanges between the two countries were valued at about $28 billion, but noted that Nigeria’s contribution to that figure was only about $3 billion, which he described as unsatisfactory.

He described the imbalance as a major concern requiring deliberate efforts to expand Nigeria’s export capacity.

According to him, the zero-tariff policy introduced by China presents an opportunity for Nigerian businesses to increase exports if they understand and comply with the policy requirements.

“We have to study the policy itself, understand the conditions and requirements, and then take the information to our farmers, traders and exporters so they can take advantage of it,” he said.

He also disclosed that the embassy had commenced engagements to examine the implementation framework of the policy and promote awareness among relevant stakeholders.

He said Nigeria must strengthen production, improve product quality and increase value addition to maximise the benefits offered by the initiative. Dambazau said the Chinese zero-tariff initiative could significantly improve Nigeria’s export performance, provided local producers and exporters understood the conditions attached to the scheme and met the required standards.

According to the ambassador, the Nigerian mission in China has already begun consultations to understand how the policy will operate in practice and to ensure businesses and other stakeholders are adequately informed.

He stressed that increasing production, raising product standards and adding value to Nigerian goods would be essential if the country was to make meaningful gains from the opportunity.

The Nigerian diplomat added that the embassy would sustain collaboration with relevant government agencies and private sector operators to help Nigeria strengthen its position in the Chinese market and derive greater benefits from the economic relationship between the two countries.

Meanwhile, the former President Goodluck Jonathan has credited China’s success in developing a strong domestic oil and gas industry as the inspiration behind Nigeria’s local content policy, while commending the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) for significantly expanding indigenous participation in the sector.

Speaking on Wednesday at the SweetCrude Dialogue 2026, tagged ‘Through the Python’s Eye: 70 Years of Oil and Gas Production’, held at the Nigerian Content Tower in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Jonathan said he remains fulfilled by signing the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act into law in April 2010.

He recalled that the idea for the legislation was shaped by a visit to China while serving as Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, where he observed that virtually every component used in the country’s oil industry was sourced locally.

“Almost everything used in the Chinese oil industry was sourced locally,” Jonathan said, noting that China’s remarkable progress in the petroleum sector followed the discovery of the Daqing Oilfield in 1959—just three years after crude oil was first discovered in Oloibiri, present-day Bayelsa State.

The former president said the contrast between China’s industrial development and Nigeria’s dependence on foreign technology, expertise, equipment and production inputs left a lasting impression on him.