With the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) launching into new leadership under an Executive Secretary that was appointed rounding up 2023, the agency’s constitutionally-backed objectives were going to be largely the same, only a different application strategy would be the difference.

And so it seems to be under Engr. Felix Ogbe that up to a year following his appointment as Board administrator, there is already an agenda to push local content activism up to higher heights and the 2024 edition of the Practical Nigerian Content (PNC) Conference and Exhibition has been fixed for the first week of December.

When the time arrives, the staging ground is going to be the Nigerian Content Tower, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State under the theme Deepening the Next Frontier for Nigerian Content Implementation.

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There, a long list of oil industry leaders, ministers of the federal republic, national assembly members, as well as oil and gas stakeholders that have been profiled to attend will either be speaking on a topic or just be around to inspire more motivation concerning what the NCDMB is trying to do based on the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act that established it in 2010.

By the first week of December, it will be the 13th edition of the annual conference and exhibition which the agency plans to host in partnership with a planner, DMG Events. This year’s PNC 2024 will start specifically on Monday 2 December 2024 with the guests showing up for a golf tourney staging at the Henry Seriake Golf and Country Club which is also situated in Yenagoa.

After this will be a welcoming reception the Monday evening that Coleman Wires and Cables is supposed to be hosting at Best Western Hotel, Swali, Yenagoa which has just been opened. By the next day, the serious talks will certainly begin with the statement of purpose posted as a speech from Engr. Ogbe.

Backing him will also be goodwill messages by heads of agencies linked with crude oil mining in Nigeria whether in regulatory capacities or building the infrastructure. This reality then brings – succinctly put – three superpowers attached with vital portfolios.

First comes Engr. Gbenga Komolafe. He is the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC). Then there is the Chief Executive heading the Nigerian Midstream & Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Engr. Farouk Ahmed, and after him the Group Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd, Mr. Mele Kolo Kyari.

These trio connect with other presence in President Bola Tinubu’s federal establishment. One such is the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri joined by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo, likewise the Ministry of Power’s Mr Adebayo Adelabu

When all these personalities attend the 13^th PNC on Tuesday 3 November, they will be looking to analyse oil industry necessities – that is, the areas that policies need to consider if there is to be a vibrant sector that gets most of its tasks done by local people.

The Next Frontier for Nigerian Content: Divestments and Offshore Opportunities will be one of the two panel discussions to be had. This side of the spectrum wants to see openings that haven’t yet blossomed but are possible through sheer will.

Personalities expected to contribute to this all have vast experiences including the Director Project Certification and Authorisation, NCDMB, Engr. Abayomi Bamidele, alongside the Chairman, Chevron Nigeria, Mr Jim Swartz, the Executive Director, TotalEnergies E&P Nigeria, Mr Obi Imemba, the Group Chief Executive, Oando PLC, Mr Wale Tinubu and the Managing Director, Aradel Holdings, Engr. Adegbite Falade.

Possibly, there will be fresh insights that the National Assembly representatives visiting this conference can take back parliament colleagues.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Content, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring, Honourable  Boma Goodhead have been scheduled for opening day speeches and they are to be literally, good heads because of their knowledge on setting up frameworks and writing laws.

After the first panel discussion still on that Tuesday, will come the second. This will be about Evaluating Financial Strategies for Increased Local Content Implementation and to spur more talk on this, the Secretary-General, the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (APPO), Dr Omar Farouk Ibrahim, the Managing Director, Bank of Industry (BOI), Dr Olasupo Olusi and the Director  Finance & Personnel Management, NCDMB, Ifeanyi Ukoha.

Ever since a parliamentary act gave life to NCDMB 14 years ago, more grounds have been gained. One of the ways the Board can measure its success could be by how much interest Nigeria is gaining from other sub-Saharan African countries looking to better equip their oil and gas industries.

Neighbouring Ghana is one. Two weeks into August, NCDMB and the country’s upstream petroleum regulator took new steps to help each other build 3 years non-stop. If more requests to understudy Nigeria’s oil and gas industry are to come, a Practical Nigerian Content (PNC) Conference and Exhibition would have to stay running like clockwork.

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Meiza Nigeria