NCDMB awards ₦1m to University of Ilorin student in essay competition
More than 5,000 entries from 52 universities featured in the 10th edition of the competition, which focused on manufacturing as a driver of sustainable local content development.
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has highlighted the importance of youth development and domestic manufacturing to Nigeria’s local content ambitions as it announced the winners of its 2026 National Undergraduate Essay Competition.
Wisdom David Fabunmi, a 200-level Physiotherapy student of the University of Ilorin, Kwara State, emerged overall winner at the competition’s grand finale and award ceremony held on Thursday at the NCDMB Conference Centre in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. He received ₦1 million, a brand-new laptop and a plaque.
Joy Oghogho Enogieru, a 100-level Doctor of Optometry student at the University of Benin, finished second, winning ₦700,000, a laptop and a plaque. Ahmadu Kodan Yusuf, a 100-level Law student at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, came third and received ₦500,000, a laptop and a plaque. Contestants who placed fourth to ninth also received consolation prizes.
The 10th edition attracted about 5,000 entries from 52 universities across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones. This year’s theme, “Promoting Manufacturing for Sustainable Local Content Development,” challenged students to examine how stronger domestic production could improve Nigeria’s industrial capacity and create greater economic value.
Representing the Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, at the ceremony, the board’s General Manager of Corporate Communications, Dr Obinna Ezeobi, said the competition supports its mandate to develop local human and material capacity and monitor compliance within the oil and gas industry.
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Ezeobi explained that the initiative provides undergraduates with a platform to research Nigerian Content, examine national challenges and propose ideas that could contribute to industrial development. He said universities should encourage critical thinking, innovation and the creation of solutions to societal problems, adding that young people’s ideas and commitment would be crucial to the future of Nigerian Content.
He noted that the board implements its human capacity development mandate through direct intervention training for graduates and artisans in technical and non-technical skills, as well as project-based training that gives participants on-the-job experience on live projects. These programmes are implemented in line with the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, 2010.
According to Ezeobi, the essay competition complements other initiatives aimed at strengthening the skills and capabilities of young Nigerians in higher institutions. These include Research Centres of Excellence at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri; Federal University of Technology, Minna; Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island, Bayelsa State; University of Port Harcourt, Choba; University of Ibadan, Ibadan; and Modibbo Adama University of Technology, Yola.
He also highlighted the Nigerian Engineering Olympiad (NEO), which encourages innovation among engineering students and concluded its maiden edition in July 2026.
Other initiatives include the Nigerian Oil and Gas Readiness Training programme, through which 10,000 young Nigerians are being trained in 10 priority skills required for emerging oil and gas projects. The board also operates the Catch-the-Researcher-Young Programme (CRYP), a digital research capacity development initiative designed to equip undergraduates with modern technology skills, advanced research methods and industry-relevant digital competencies.
Explaining the choice of this year’s essay theme, Ezeobi said it was intended to encourage students to consider how Nigeria could strengthen its productive capacity and retain more economic value through manufacturing.
He described manufacturing as the bedrock of sustainable local content development, citing the Nigerian Oil and Gas Parks Scheme (NOGaPS), established by the board to support the manufacturing of components used by the oil and gas industry.
He also pointed to the Nigerian Content Equipment Commitment (NCEC), a policy that requires companies to demonstrate that they manufacture components and have the capacity to execute key activities before securing contract opportunities in the sector.
Earlier, the programme consultant and Chief Executive Officer of Mahogany 21st Century Concepts Limited, Eyinimi Omorozi, described the ceremony as a celebration of a decade of investment in ideas by the NCDMB. He commended the quality of the students’ submissions and expressed optimism about the contributions young Nigerians could make to the country’s future.
“From the essays of these young men and women, you can just tell that the future is very bright,” Omorozi said, adding that the board was investing in intellectual development alongside infrastructure and regulatory compliance.
“NCDMB is not just building facilities and monitoring compliance, it is also building minds,” he said.
The chairman of the occasion, Professor Promise Mebine, Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Otuoke, congratulated the board on sustaining the competition and remaining committed to its objectives.
He said Nigerian Content development required investment in people, particularly young Nigerians who would shape the country’s industries and economic future.
“Year after year, you have proven that building Nigerian Content is not only about pipelines and platforms, but about building people, particularly our youths, the leaders of tomorrow,” Mebine said.
Congratulating the winners, he urged them to look beyond their prizes and make use of the opportunities created by the competition.
“Your prize today is well-deserved, but the real prize is not the cheque or the plaque. The real prize is that NCDMB has now opened a door for you. Walk through it!” he said.
He also encouraged other contestants to continue writing and researching, regardless of their positions in the competition.
“You are not losers; every essay you submitted is a seed. You have trained your mind to think. You have trained your hand to write. Keep writing; keep researching; keep believing in Nigeria; next year, the podium may be yours,” Mebine said.
In a goodwill message, the Director of the board’s Monitoring and Evaluation Directorate, Esueme Dan Kikile, commended the Executive Secretary, the Corporate Communications Division and the programme consultant for their efforts in sustaining the competition, which he said had continued to benefit the board and participating students.
