Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB, has clarified its statutory role, stressing that it is a pan-Nigerian agency mandated to deepen local participation in the oil and gas industry, not an interventionist agency for the Niger Delta.
The Board has also charged the media to set the right agenda by promoting Nigerian Content development as a critical driver of national economic growth.
Speaking at a strategic engagement with media practitioners and youth stakeholders in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, the Board’s General Manager, Corporate Communications, Dr. Obinna Ezeobi, said: “The NCDMB is a federal government agency set up to build local capacities and enforce compliance of Nigerian content in the oil and gas industry. We are not an interventionist agency for the Niger Delta. Our mandate is pan-Nigeria.”
Dr. Ezeobi explained that some expectations from the Board were misplaced and urged both youths and the media to understand its legal responsibilities under the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development, NOGICD, Act of 2010.
“It is important for stakeholders to know what to expect from us. When you ask NCDMB to embark on projects that fall under other intervention agencies, you create confusion. Our focus is clear: build capacity, create jobs, enforce compliance, and ensure Nigerians play bigger roles in oil and gas,” he added.
Ezeobi also appealed to journalists to embrace their professional duty of “gatekeeping” to counter misinformation about the Board’s operations.
“If you hear that NCDMB has spent N20 million on a road project from Nembe to Zarama, you should know that is not our mandate. We ask you to gatekeep, filter out what is inappropriate, inaccurate, and false. At the same time, help us set the right agenda. Let us focus the nation’s attention on how to grow Nigerian Content from the current 56 percent to 70 percent.”
Representing the Executive Secretary, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, the Director of Corporate Services, Dr. Abdulmalik Halilu, outlined milestones of Nigerian Content implementation.
He noted that the Board had driven in-country value addition by enforcing compliance with the NOGICD Act and supporting indigenous businesses.
“Over 100 Nigerian companies with EPC capabilities are now delivering world-class services. More than 15,000 Nigerians have been trained in welding, marine operations, and design engineering. Through the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund, over $350 million has been deployed to local firms,” Halilu disclosed.
He added that Nigerian fabrication yards had successfully executed parts of Floating Production Storage and Offloading, FPSO, platforms locally, while industrialisation initiatives were expanding opportunities across sectors.
Also speaking, Mr. Omomehin Ajimajiye, General Manager, Midstream Monitoring and Evaluation, highlighted the establishment of six Centers of Excellence nationwide, focusing on gas studies, safety and environmental management, and engineering innovation.
“So far, over 1,800 Nigerians have benefited from specialised training programs,” he said.
Also, Mr. Bufazi Tareowei, Deputy Manager, Capacity Building, encouraged stakeholders to register on the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Joint Qualification System, NOGICJQS, to access the Board’s opportunities.
