NCDMB earmarks N15bn for local contractors

The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Felix Ogbe, has disclosed that N15bn had been earmarked for the revised Community Contractors Financing Scheme.

It was learnt that this initiative will address a critical challenge faced by local contractors: their limited access to funding for contracts awarded by oil and gas companies.

Ogbe, while delivering his keynote address at the opening of the 13th edition of the Practical Nigerian Content Forum in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State,  also said the board had raised the single obligor limit from N20m to N100m.

“N15bn have been earmarked for this purpose. Also, the single obligor limit has been increased from N20m to N100m,” he stated.

The NCDMB boss also announced the launch of ‘Back to the Creek’, an initiative that focused on equipping youths in host communities with the skills needed to meet industry demands and directly supporting the local content drive.

“This initiative aligns closely with the mandate of President Bola Tinubu to create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive. This initiative will be implemented in three phases: First, the improvement of primary education infrastructure; next, the enhancement of secondary education; and finally, providing scholarships and facilitating employment opportunities for top-performing students from oil-producing communities,” he explained.

Speaking on the theme of the PNC forum, ’Defining the New Frontier of Nigerian Content Implementation’, the executive secretary explained that the Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, 2010, charged the board with a clear mandate to build the capacity of Nigerian companies and individuals to actively participate in the oil and gas industry.

He recalled that in 2017, the board launched a 10-year strategic roadmap built on five strategic pillars and supported by four enablers, saying achievements have been recorded.

According to Ogbe, some of the NCDMB achievements include the unveiling of Amal Technologies in Idu, Abuja and the Kwale Gas Gathering facility in Delta State; getting approval for the 312 Nigerian Content Plans as 402 Nigerian Content Compliance Certificates were issued; uveiling Bell Oil and Gas’ 50,000 metric-tonne integrated Oil Country Tubular Goods facility at the Lekki Free Trade Zone; unveiling of 10,000 MT capacity galvanizing plant by Daewoo; and establishment of the Nigeria Oil and Gas Park Scheme in Bayelsa, Cross River, and Akwa Ibom states among others.

He announced that the Nigerian content level had increased from 26 per cent in 2016 to 56 per cent by 2024.

As part of the commitment to further deepen Nigerian content in the oil and gas industry, he said the board was committing to developing more conducive and befitting zonal offices to aid the deployment of its personnel across various directorates, thereby making the zonal offices fully operational.

“As we embark on the next phase of this journey, let us carry forward the spirit of collaboration and resilience that has brought us this far. In the words of Nelson Mandela, ‘It always seems impossible until it’s done.’ Let us show the world what is possible when vision meets action, and commitment meets opportunity,” Ogbe concluded.

The board in 2017 introduced the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund scheme with initial funding of $200m but commenced fully in 2018 and increased to $300m in 2020.

The fund was aimed at boosting the capacity of Nigerian companies in the oil and gas sector.