Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), has been appointed into the Executive Board of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (APPO). He becomes Nigeria’s representative on the Board of the 18-member continental body, which has its headquarters at Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo.

Ogbe was picked for this role by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, who doubles as the Chairman of the NCDMB Governing Council.

The notice of the Executive Secretary’s appointment was conveyed in a congratulatory letter signed by the Director of Support Services, APPO, Mrs. Philomena Ikoko, on behalf of the Secretary General of the organisation, Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim. She applauded the NCDMB boss on the confidence reposed in him by the minister, expressing her belief that he would make immense contributions to the development of the African oil and gas industry.

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She stated that Ogbe is joining the Executive Board of APPO at a challenging time for the oil and gas industry, especially in Africa. Your appointment is a major call to duty for Nigeria and the continent. The secretariat will give you the support you will need to make a success of your assignment,” she said.

NCDMB played key roles in the operations of APPO and development of local content on the African continent, providing institutional support and mentorship to several oil producing countries in their formulation of local content policies.

NCDMB initiated the African Local Content Roundtable (ALCR) and hosted the inaugural edition in Yenagoa, Bayelsa state, June 2021, which was attended by key officials of APPO and other oil industry players. The idea for the Africa Energy Bank (AEB) was mooted by NCDMB’s officials at the event, as one of the initiatives that would accelerate the growth of the African oil and gas industry and deepen local content.

The Board also collaborated with APPO to host subsequent editions of the African Local Content Roundtable (ALCR), including the 2023 edition held at Abuja.

The Africa Energy Bank, which will be headquartered in Abuja, is aimed at pooling financial resources needed to fund big-ticket oil and gas projects on the continent, and bridge funding challenges currently impeding the development of the sector. According to the APPO Secretary General, the Africa Energy Bank seeks to fund oil and gas projects across economies in Africa, helping to plug critical financing gaps that exist through the continent’s overreliance on financiers from the West.

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Each APPO member country is expected to raise US$83 million with an objective of meeting a $5 billion capital for the establishment of the Bank. It was revealed recently that Nigeria, Angola and Ghana have contributed their share capital. The trio’s contributions represent 44 percent of the minimum capital that is required from oil producing countries.

At the Nigerian Oil and Gas Opportunity Fair (NOGOF) last week, Engr. Ogbe confirmed that the agency was part of key institutions that pooled resources for the formation of the Africa Energy Bank. He announced that the Bank will open for business before the end of the second quarter in 2025, expressing hope that it will create more funding availability for local oil and gas projects and companies.

Similarly, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), stated at the Offshore Technology Conference that Afrexim Bank has already raised $19 billion for the take-off of the Africa Energy Bank; $14 billion out of the funds represents the bank’s financial exposure on African oil and gas projects, with the additional $5 billion as take-off capital.

Adewole Ojo

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