Gideon Osi, President of the Gosima Group, has raised concerns over the Federal Capital Territory’s (FCT) reliance on foreign contractors for major projects, warning that the trend stifles the growth and sustainability of local expertise.
Addressing journalists after the company’s 2025 Management Training Programme in Abuja, Osi appealed to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike to give priority to local firms in project delivery, stressing that they are vital for ensuring long-term sustainability.
The event had the theme: “Leadership Training on Improved Project Management, Process Standardisation, and Organisational Structure.”
He commended the minister, stating, “So far, the current minister of FCT has been doing great. Abuja is awake for the first time after many years. And we commend him.”
“Let him do everything possible to ensure that more Nigerian companies are involved in the activities and projects in the FCT. That is the only way we can have sustainability.
“When the foreign companies are gone, the local ones are not capable enough to move on because they were never supported, and were never developed,” he said.
Osi highlighted the capabilities of Nigerian professionals, saying, “the universities we have are trained engineers, trained architects, trained quantity surveyors.
“Where would they go and work? There’s no way in the world that you will have a better team than what you have in Nigeria.”
He challenged stereotypes about local contractors, adding that, “The notion that local contractors always use substandard materials during construction is giving a dog a bad name to kill it. It is not true.”
He said: “If proposing that what is paid to foreign contractors should also be paid to local contractors, absolutely.
“It is the same work they are doing. Whatever you are going to pay to foreign contractors, pay to local contractors as well. Give them the opportunity to excel. It is for the good of your people.”
“Local contractors who are awarded projects and these projects are not executed should be prosecuted accordingly. The fact is that crime anywhere is crime.
“When you are given an assignment, deliver this assignment with commitment for the sake of your country, for the sake of your unborn generation.”
On enhancing support for local construction companies, Osi emphasised the private sector’s role in job creation.
“There is one thing to give people projects and some other thing to pay for it. People should be encouraged, enable environment created, support given to local companies,” he said.
He pointed out the gap between academic training and available job opportunities, cautioning that without change, many graduates could leave school unemployed and forced to struggle for survival.
The company’s training initiative engaged 45 management staff members, with a strategy in place to transfer the acquired knowledge to more than 300 employees.
