10 March 2015, Lagos – To foster capacity building in the nation’s petroleum industry, the Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board, NCDMB, has charged the management of Petrolog Group to adopt one of the tertiary institutions in order to integrate the youths in marine engineering and allied disciplines.
The Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Mr. Ernest Nwapa, gave the charge last week in Lagos, during the inauguration of Petrolog’s dive support vessel, DSV Vinnice.
Nwapa said such adoption is one of the ways the investment in the vessel could foster capacity building and employment generation in the sector.
While commending the entrepreneurial skills of Nigerians and attendant breakthroughs since the signing of the Nigerian Content Act 2010, the NCDMB scribe argued that there was still room for greater exploits and successes.
He noted that all the vessels operating in the Nigerian waters are foreign built, adding that the Board hoped for a Nigerian constructed vessel to demonstrate capacity in this area. He argued that the excuse of financial incapacity is no longer valid, as Nigerian banks like First Bank and its peers have shown that they can fund such huge investments. He said; “In the past, people didn’t believe that Nigerian banks can fund such capital intensive projects. But it has become apparent through projects like this that they have the capacity.
“What we are seeing today, is also a continuation of the Federal Government’s trajectory since the signing of the Nigerian Content Act, which has set Nigerians free with their entrepreneurial skills so much that there is no sector of the economy that Nigerians cannot play in today.”He re-assured investors in the industry of Federal government’s support to boost investments such as the DSV vessel, saying, “the law protects investment in Nigeria, and as such, industry jobs will be given to this vessel and any other Nigerian vessel first before it can given out to a foreign vessel.”
He, therefore urged Nigerian entrepreneurs not to be intimidated by the seeming challenges, but to use their initiatives for greater breakthroughs.
Speaking at the vessel inauguration, Petrolog Executive Chairman, Dr. Vincent Ebuh, said the vessel is the Group’s latest addition to its marine assetd to enhance oil and gas production in Nigeria and beyond.
– Vanguard