Actual construction of a low-cost manufacturing hub for equipment components and spare
parts used in the oil and gas industry will start in Ondo State soonest, states the Nigerian
Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), promoters of the project.
Located at Ilaje, Ilaje Local Government Area of the State, the facility is one of six being built
in different parts of the country under NCDMB’s Nigerian Oil and Gas Park Scheme
(NOGAPS), in furtherance of its corporate mandate to develop in-country capacity in the oil
and gas industry. NOGAPS, at Odukpani, Cross River State, and at Emeyal 1, Bayelsa State,
are at 99 pe cent completion.
NCDMB’s Director, Monitoring and Evaluation, Mr. Akintunde Adelana, told a gathering of
government officials, including Ondo State Acting Governor, Mr. Lucky Aiyedatiwa,
industrialists and investors as well as representatives of the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) and the European Union (EU), that the agency was conceived to provide
“a springboard to galvanise different sectors of the Nigerian economy”.
Mr. Adelana said that the oil and gas industrial parks, developed by the Board in conjunction
with Shell Petroleum Development Company, ExxonMobil and Nigerian Agip Oil Company
(with particular reference to NOGAPS, Emeyal 1 and NOGAPS, Odukpani) consist of
manufacturing shop floors and factories, warehouses, training centres, mini estates, fire
stations, truck parking and holding spaces, hostels and administrative blocks. They are
intended to eliminate importation of equipment components and spares required in oil
industry operations.
Speaking on Day 1 of the ongoing “Develop Ondo 2.0 Investment Summit” in Akure, the
state capital, Adelana stated that in line with the core mandate of the Board, which revolves
around “domesticating and domiciling value-adding activities in the oil and gas industry”,
regulations on utilisation of home-grown resources, that is, local manpower, technical
services of indigenous firms, goods manufactured locally as well as raw materials available
in the country, have been rigorously enforced.
With specific reference to Ondo State, he emphasised that NCDMB wants “to align with the
State Government, support the State to ensure that her dreams and aspirations come to
reality.” He said Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Centres have been built
in parts of the State to facilitate digital education and thus equip the youth with appropriate
skills for gainful employment and self-development.
On the Board’s role in facilitating access to energy, Adelana, who represented the Board’s
Executive Secretary, Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote, said an effective way of doing it is by
building capacities, which NCDMB has done consistently since its creation in 2010 through
trainings for manpower development, equity participation in companies like Waltersmith
Modular Refineries, blending plants and cylinder manufacturing companies, as well as
strategic interventions in funding to indigenous companies through the Nigeria Content
Development Fund, and sundry initiatives.
Earlier in a welcome address, the Acting Governor, Mr. Aiyedatiwa expressed appreciation
to the Local Organising Committee of the Summit, UNDP the EU, “for their invaluable
contribution and support,” industrialists and investors as well as sponsors, namely, Niger
Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited
(NNPCL), Toyota, JETOUR and Green Energy.
He assured investors that Ondo is resource-rich and investment-friendly, noting that the
Develop Ondo 2.0 Investment Summit “aims to attract US$2 billion investment”. Recalling
successes attained since the earlier edition tagged Develop Ondo 1.0 Investment Summit,
he said, “2.0 symbolises our drive for continuous improvement and innovation,” adding that
the state “is on the cusp of a remarkable industrial revolution.” He drew attention to
investment opportunities in the ongoing “development of an inland gas corridor,” Port
Ondo Project, and the Ondo Industrial City, which is envisaged to have a free trade zone
status.
Other speakers at the three-day Summit with the theme “Developing Possibilities” include
Engr. Razaq Obe, Ondo State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources/Chairman,
Organising Committee; Mr. Ruben Alba Aguilera, Acting Head of Cooperation, Delegation of
the EU to Federal Republic of Nigeria, and Ms. Fati Attahiru, Deputy Resident Representative
– Operations, A.I./UNDP Nigeria.
