The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri on Thursday in Abuja inaugurated the 4th Governing Council of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB). The NCDMB Governing Council is set up under the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act and draws membership from representatives of select institutions connected with the oil and gas industry.

Members of the new NCDMB Council were first announced by President Bola Tinubu on December 7, 2023. The Board would be chaired by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, while the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, would serve as the Secretary of the Council.

Other members include Mrs. Oritsemyiwa Eyesan, Executive Vice President, Gas, Power, and New Energy, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited; Engr. Gbenga Komolafe, Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NUPRC); Mrs. Bekearedebo Augusta Warrens, representative of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and Mr. Nicholas Odinuwe, Chairman of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN).

Also drafted are the Commissioner for Insurance and Chief Executive Officer of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Mr. Olorundare Sunday Thomas; Chairman of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering (COREN), Prof. Sadiq Abubakar and the representative of the Nigerian Content Consultative Forum (NCCF), Dr. Raphael Samuel.

In his remarks, the Minister congratulated the members of the Governing Council on their nomination, noting that it was based on their expertise and experience. He explained that the NOGICD Act provided for institutional representation on the Governing Council, to enable the agency to benefit from the expertise and professionalism of key organisations and change the narrative in the oil and gas industry. 

He declared that NCDMB had recorded tremendous achievements in the oil and gas industry in the last 13 years of its existence and had achieved many of the set objectives. He solicited the cooperation of the new Council members to raise the bar of Nigerian Content development. He added that many African countries are coming to understudy Nigeria’s Local Content model and it was incumbent on Nigeria to deepen the level of implementation and stay ahead of other nations.

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Speaking further, the Minister stated that one of the core mandates of the NCDMB is to build indigenous human and infrastructural capacities so that Nigerians can play critical roles in the oil and gas industry.

He highlighted that NCDMB was one of the few agencies chaired by the Minister, attributing it to the importance of the organisation to the national economy. He also mentioned that Section 75 of the NOGICD Act mandates the Governing Council to manage and superintend the affairs of the Board, among other duties.     

Responding on behalf of the newly constituted council, Mr Thomas thanked the Minister for the nomination and promised to uphold the confidence reposed in them. He affirmed that NCDMB has performed creditably, and Nigerian Content implementation had become the envy of many countries. A lot of value has been added to the oil and gas industry and the Nigerian economy and I thank those who originated the NOGICD Act. We will do our best and we will continue the good work started by the NCDMB, he added.

Engr. Felix Omatsola, the Executive Secretary, promised to work closely with all the members of the Governing Council to take the Board to greater heights.

Adewole Ojo

Adewole Ojo is the Editor-in-Chief of Meiza Nigeria. He can be reached on adewole.ojo@fourpoints.ng.