Business

Nigerian Content And Oil Sector Revolution

Published

9 years ago

September 4, 2017

It is no longer news that the price of oil in the international market is on a progressive decline.
The reason for this, of course, is not far-fetched; the world is rising above dependency on fossil oil as major source of energy and as nature abhors vacuum, global attention is shifted to alternative source of energy to avoid been caught up in the imminent revolution.
However, Nigeria as an oil producing country does not only depend on the exportation of oil as a major source of revenue but imports refined petroleum products for domestic consumption.
This ugly development trend places Nigeria in a state of sordid reality in the global paradi shift.
In line with this global revolution in the oil and gas industry, pundits have continued to raise questions on its implications for the development of the Nigerian oil sector; will Nigeria key into the revolution having remained the only country in the world that will eventually be left behind, when fossil oil cease to be the major energy source?
Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Content Development Monitoring Board, Engr. SimbiWabote, however provided answers to this niggling question, while addressing a session of experts in the oil and gas sector, at a content development exhibition workshop organised in Port Harcourt, recently.
The workshop which was jointly organised by the Port Harcourt Branch of the Nigeria Society of Engineers, and the Nigeria Content Development Monitoring Board was according to the executive secretary a platform to brainstorm on the way forward for the Nigeria oil and gas industry and the wider economy.
Engr. Wabote, noted that the dismal level of Nigeria to the tune of a paltry five per cent made Nigeria to focus mainly on oil revenue in the past, resulting in foreign based procurement and estimated capital flight of about $380bn in 50 years, with over two million jobs specifically lost in the Niger Delta region.
According major consequence according to him was the narrative and global portrayal of Nigeria as a consuming economy.
However he pointed out that “the issuance of the 16 and 23 directives in 2005 and 2006 respectively, to drive local content raised the local content consciousness in the oil and gas industry but the imperative was centred on best endeavour basis thereby stunting the anticipated prospect of development”.
The directives subsequently received legal backing for an all-encompassing framework of Nigeria content development, when the Nigeria oil and gas industry content development act, was enacted in 2010.
Under the act, the Nigeria content development and monitoring Board’s mandate was broadly classified into two key areas; to develop capacity of local supply chain for effective and efficient service delivery to the oil and gas industry, without compromising standards, and to implement and enforce the provisions of the Nigeria Oil and Gas Content Development (NOGICD) Act 2010.
In course of actualising its statutory mandate, the executive secretary, said, “we have been consistent in promoting the development and enforcement of local content implementation in the oil and gas sector and have recorded some key achievements.
He pointed out that before the Act; “we had annual spend of $20bn with little or nothing retained in-country, Today I can confidently say that we spend $5bn in the country, every year. We targeted four pipe mills, but today we have two World-class pipe mills and five impressive coating yards. Before 2010 only three per cent of marine vessels were Nigerian owned today, Nigerians control and own 36 per cent of vessels that are used in the oil and gas industry”.
The executive secretary further explained that Nigeria can presently handle fabrication capacity of more than 60,000 tonnes, while all cables required in the oil and gas sector are all “manufactured in Nigeria, adding that manufacturing of bolts, nuts and flanges fully certified to the required oil and gas industry standard for onshore and offshore projects are now being carried out in the country”.
Other achievements recorded by the board in the same direction, according to the executive secretary, include; “the creation of 35,000 jobs and the assembly of offshore Christmas trees, in-country at the FMC Technip assembly plant in Onne and the GE assembly plants in Onne and Calabar, development of new infrastructure for integration of FPSO’s on the back of Egina project, with a production capacity of 200.000 bbl/day and holding capacity for 2.3 million barrel of oil”. With these achievements, he said the board has moved the in-country value retention from less than five per cent before the act to the current 26% level.
As part of measure of achieving local content development, the executive secretary stated that, “the board was supporting indigenous companies venturing into Deep Water offshore projects and operations, as well as collaborating with investors or business organisations, such as Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) and other business organisations to establish a dry dock facility in the Niger Delta region to cater for the maintenance of big vessels, including LNG carriers”.
Engr. Wabote added that the Federal Government was promoting a domestic gas utilisation programme to encourage use of cooking gas and thereby discourage the use of kerosene, firewood and charcoal, to enhance a cleaner and healthier environment in the country.
Similarly to the gas utilisation programme, he said “CNG ulilisation is another initiative being pursued by the Federal Government to achieve its Gas revolution and utilize the huge gas reserves of 180TCF under the oil gas industry roadmap also known as seven big wins laundered by President MohammaduBuhari in October last year.
With the glimmer of economic hope presented by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, (NCDMB), Nigerians are of the view that the gains so far made be consolidated especially in the diverfication of the oil and gas industry.
With an estimated number of 10 million vehicles in the country and less than 10,000 running on CNG and the frittering of over five trillion naira on buying of fuel by over eight million Nigerians depending on generators, a fuel swift to gas utilisation promises a rosy economic future for the country.
An expert in the petroleum industry, Prof. Ogbonna Joel, believes that only through effective diversification of the oil and gas industry can the objective of the Nigeria oil and gas, content development Act be achieved. Speaking in an interview with The Tide, Prof. Ogbonna, urged the Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board, (NCDMB) to support indigenous companies and local enterpreneurs to boost their capacity to contribute to national growth, such synergy, he pointed out would promote local based technology and make Nigeria key into the global technological revolution.
Also commenting on the prospect of the Nigeria content development, an Environmental Sociologist, Dr. Steve Wodu, said. The federal Government should put in place proper regulatory framework for the implementation of the Content Development Act.
He said the allegations making the rounds of purported plans by the Nigeria Content Development Board (NCDMB) to move its operational base from the Niger Delta was an ominous sign, and urged the board to be focused on the implementation of its mandates.
It could be recalled that barely one week after it jointly organised a 3-day content development and exhibition workshop with the Port Harcourt Branch of the Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE) in Port Harcourt, the operational headquarters of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Boards NCDMB in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State was shut down by members of the Ijaw youth Council (IYC).
The reasons advanced by the protecting youths is that the Board has opened new operational offices in Lagos and Abuja, a decision they said was contrary to the provisions of the Nigeria Content Act.
Tari Porri who led the protest said the move to open news offices of the board in Abuja and Lagos contravened section 71, sub-section 3 of the NCDMB laws, which stipulate that the Board offices should only be established in oil and gas producing areas.
The recent shut down of its activities by the protesting Ijaw youths is no doubt a litmus test for the board to assert itself in the pursuit of its statutory objectives.

Taneh Beemene

Business

Boat Mishap Kills Pastor, Wife And Church Members In Brass Water

Published

2 days ago

May 18, 2026

The Tide

A boat accident in Bayelsa state has killed a serving Pastor, Wife and other church members along Brass waterways

The sad incident happened at Odioama in Brass local government area of Bayelsa State when the Pastor, wife and members of his church were in a programme.

?Tide confirmed that the lifeless body of the Pastor’s wife has been found and deposited in a mortuary while the remains of her husband ,the Pastor is yet to be recovered

as search party are still ongoing.

Although the real cause of the boat Mishap is not yet known as at the time of this report, our Correspondent gathered that the identities of the Pastor, wife and church members were not disclosed to the public.

The mishap, Tide gathered occurred on Friday morning when the church members were on a boat transit

The Bayelsa State government and the state police command are yet to issue official statement’s on the sad accident

By: CHINEDU WOSU

Business

Rivers Workers Seek Scrapping Of Contributory Pension Scheme

Published

2 days ago

May 18, 2026

The Tide

The Rivers State Council of Nigeria Civil Service Union has called on the State Government to urgently scrap the contributory pension scheme, describing it as unfavourable to long-serving civil servants in the state.

Chairman of the union, Chukwuka Osuma, said this in an interview with newsmen in Port Harcourt, recently.

Osuma said the current pension structure has continued to worsen post-retirement hardship for workers.

He noted that the contributory pension scheme had failed to provide adequate retirement security for workers who had spent many years in service, especially those approaching retirement age.

According to him, civil servants who had served for more than 20 years were among the worst affected under the scheme, insisting that many retirees could no longer cope with prevailing economic realities.

He also informed that the Union has made moves to showcase their concerns, pleading with Governor Siminalayi Fubara to abolish the pension policy and introduce a more favourable arrangement for affected workers.

“The union was not opposed to pension reforms, the contributory scheme should only apply to newly employed workers or those with fewer years in service”, he said.

Osuma explained that workers who had already spent decades in the civil service ought to remain under a more secure pension structure capable of guaranteeing stability after retirement.

The labour leader further noted that inflation and the rising cost of living had continued to erode the value of retirement savings, thereby increasing the suffering of pensioners across the country.

He also appealed to the state government to consider extending the years of service in the civil service from 35 to 40 years and the retirement age from 60 to 65 years.

Osuma argued that such adjustment had become necessary in view of present-day economic realities and changing conditions in the workplace.

The unionist also reviewed that similar policies had already been adopted in some sectors and jurisdictions, expressing optimism that the State could also implement the reforms for the benefit of workers.

He however, commended Governor Fubara for approving an N85,000 minimum wage for workers in the state, noting that the amount was above the national benchmark of N70,000.

Osuma also acknowledged the government’s efforts in the area of workers’ promotions and bonuses, but insisted that pension reforms and extension of years of service remained critical to the long-term welfare and stability of civil servants in Rivers State.

By: King Onunwor

Business

FG Begins South-West Tour To Promote New Cooperative Bank

Published

1 week ago

May 13, 2026

The Tide

The Federal Government has launched the South-West zonal engagement and ministerial advocacy tour on the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria share capital mobilisation, sensitisation and cooperative sector digitalisation.

Reports say the initiative was launched through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.

According to reports, the advocacy tour, organised by the ministry’s Federal Department of Cooperatives, began on Monday in Lagos.

Speaking at the event, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security and Supervising Minister of Cooperative Affairs, Dr Aliyu Abdullahi, said the initiative was part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

Abdullahi described the exercise as a strategic effort to reposition the cooperative sector as a key driver of inclusive economic growth, financial inclusion, enterprise development, food security and national prosperity.

“Today represents a defining moment in our collective determination to reposition the cooperative sector as a major driver of inclusive economic growth, financial inclusion, enterprise development, food security and national prosperity,” he said.

The minister noted the modern cooperative movement in Nigeria originated in the South-West following the 1934 Strickland Report, which led to the enactment of the Cooperative Societies Ordinance of 1935.

According to him, the decision to commence the sensitisation and share capital mobilisation tour in the region is symbolic, as it marks a return to the roots of cooperative development in the country.

Abdullahi said the advocacy tour was a direct outcome of resolutions reached at the 8th Regular Meeting of the National Council on Cooperative Affairs held in Abuja in March 2026.

He said the council approved the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme, a comprehensive framework designed to strengthen the cooperative sector and align it with the administration’s goal of building a one-trillion-dollar economy.

“The reform programme focuses on seven strategic pillars, including governance reforms, cooperative financing and the establishment of the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria, digitalisation, capacity building, value chain development, inclusion of youths, women and persons with disabilities, and strategic partnerships,” he said.

He said the establishment of the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria and the digitalisation of the cooperative sector were the two major transformational initiatives under the programme.

“The Cooperative Bank of Nigeria is aimed at rebuilding a strong cooperative financial system capable of supporting cooperators, farmers, artisans, traders, SMEs, youths, women and persons with disabilities with accessible and affordable financial services,” he said.

Abdullahi emphasised that the proposed bank would be government-enabled but not government-funded.

“Government is not establishing the bank as an owner, nor will it rely on Treasury Single Account funds.

“The role of government through the FMAFS is to provide policy support, stakeholder coordination, regulatory facilitation and an enabling environment under the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme,” he said.

Also speaking, the Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, Mrs Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to cooperative sector transformation.

She described cooperatives as critical tools for promoting inclusive growth, grassroots productivity, food security, financial inclusion and community wealth creation.

Ambrose-Medebem said Lagos State would continue to support reforms and collaborate with stakeholders to ensure the successful implementation of the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme (2025–2030).

“Together, let us build a cooperative ecosystem that is modern, transparent, digitally enabled, financially inclusive and globally competitive.

“Let us build cooperatives that not only mobilise savings, but also mobilise prosperity,” she said.