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Content Board Seeks Stakeholders Commitment To Compliance

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The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) wants stakeholders’ commitment to compliance even as it says local content implementation will bring back Nigerian jobs.

A statement by the Public Affairs Office of the Board in Abuja on Thursday quoted the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Mr Ernest Nwapa, as making the remarks during his visit to some oil companies.

It said that Nwapa’s visit to Chevron Nigeria Ltd. and ExxonMobil was part of his week-long sensitisation programme to major oil and gas industry stakeholders in Lagos.

Nwapa was quoted as saying that the implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGIC) Act was geared toward the establishment of facilities in Nigeria.

It said the implementation of the Act was also aimed at ensuring that the local facilities were patronised so as to bring Nigerian jobs back home.

According to him, the emphasis of the Federal Government with the implementation of the Act is not aimed at only retaining the bulk of the annual oil and gas industry expenditure in the country.

But its ultimate aim was to create employment for millions of Nigerians from the oil and gas industry operations.

Nwapa was quoted as noting that most countries in the world were currently working toward bringing back jobs for their nationals in the wake of the global economic crisis.

The executive secretary was also quoted as saying that this agenda of the Federal Government should be supported by all stakeholders in the oil and gas industry.

He conceded that keeping the cost of production reasonable and meeting work schedules were critical to national revenue.

Nwapa, however, stressed that given Nigeria’s population of 150 million, the oil and gas industry, which is the main stay of the economy, needed to pay special attention to job creation.

The executive secretary explained that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Joint Venture Partners could not employ more than 25,000 persons.

He said that several thousands of Nigerians would be employed if the companies put jobs in the yards of local service companies and encouraged their traditional service providers to build facilities in Nigeria to execute their contracts locally.

Nwapa expressed regret that the preference for importation of almost all the goods and services used in the industry was steadily eliminating opportunities to develop human capacity and infrastructure.

The executive secretary said the consequence of the practice was the impoverishment of our people and stultifying national economic growth.

Illustrating, he said: “Each major offshore production facility contract award to be fabricated in the traditional Asian fabrication yard translates into the export of more than one billion dollar capital from the Nigerian economy.

“Five thousand Nigerian jobs are lost in the two-year engineering and fabrication period and the opportunity to train several thousands other Nigerians within same time frame.

“Such decisions also result in lost opportunity to upgrade existing yards and build new ones, cripple opportunity to attract investments to the facilities and lost opportunities to grow partnerships between local and foreign companies.”

Nwapa stressed that such practice must stop, adding that compliance with the provisions of the Act called for a drastic change in the ways the industry were being run for decades to achieve government’s aspirations.

Nwapa also asked the international oil companies to provide the board with the concrete strategies they had adopted to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Act.

The executive secretary also asked the oil companies to strive to meet the targets set by the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke for the industry.

He pointed out that the board was set to invoke the non compliance sanctions prescribed in the Act for defaulting companies.

Nwapa charged the companies to come up with individual strategies of putting work in the yards of Nigerian service companies.

He also asked them to come up with plans to utilise indigenously owned marine vessels and comply with the expatriate quota provisions of the Act.

Nwapa maintained that foreign and local investors would not be encouraged to establish facilities in Nigeria to bridge capacity gaps until the board was convinced that existing facilities were being patronised.

He pledged the board’s unwavering determination to enforce compliance with the Act.

Nwapa added that “we need to demonstrate to bidders and service providers that when you do not comply with the provisions of the Act, you lose out from tenders.”

He also canvassed for a change of the mindset by Nigerians holding executive positions in the oil companies to balance loyalty to employer with a responsibility to align with national objectives when advising and taking key decisions.

In his comments, the Managing Director of Chevron Nigeria, Mr Andrew Fawthrop, commended NCDMB for initiating the engagement, which he said, would build consensus on the implementation of the Act.

He said that Chevron was committed to complying with the Act, but pointed at difficulties arising from the absence of a transition period and insufficient capacity in certain areas.

Illustrating the dilemma in balancing government aspirations, he said: “If you are seeing resistance, it is because we have goals to meet on oil production and gas delivery among other things and failure attracts some penalties.”

In his comments, the Managing Director of ExxonMobil Nigeria, Mr Mark Ward, assured NCDMB that the company would be proactive in complying with the Act.

According to him, you are going to see a different approach from ExxonMobil.

“We will not wait until we get everything right because doing nothing frustrates implementation of the Act,” Ward said.

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NPA Assures On Staff Welfare 

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The Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho, has said the management will continue to accompany its port infrastructure  and equipment  modernization drive  with the development of the welfare of its personnel.
Dantsoho made the disclosure recently while responding to the commendation by the Maritime Workers Union (MWUN) and the senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations and Government-Owned Companies (SSASGOC) on the  clearing  of the age-long problem of employee stagnation, when the union paid him a courtesy visit at the Authority’s headquarters in Lagos.
A Statement by NPA’s General Manager Corporate & Strategic Communications, Mr. Ikechukwu Onyemekara, quoted Dantsoho as saying,  “our Port infrastructure and equipment modernization drive will go hand-in-hand with continuous staff welfare improvement”.
The NPA MD disclosed that human capital development constitutes the key strategy for creating and sustaining superior performance under his watch, adding that “talent development constitutes a critical success factor for the actualization of the big hairy audacious goals we have set for ourselves especially in the area of Port competitiveness.
“The only way we can meet and indeed exceed stakeholders’ expectations is to deepen the competencies of our human resources assets and boosting their morale.”
Speaking further, Dantsoho commended the Honourable Minister of Marine & Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, for approving the strategic proposal of the Dantsoho-led Management team that solved the over a decade-long problem of lack of promotion that had fuelled industrial disharmony.
“I must specially appreciate our amiable Minister for graciously approving the multi-pronged stratagem we deployed that cleared all outstanding cases of employee stagnation by conducting examinations in one fell swoop and instituted timelines to forestall a recurrence of such anomaly”, he sad.
Speaking on behalf of the joint maritime labour unions, the President  of Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations & Government-Owned Companies (SSASCGOC), Comrade Bodunde stated, “In addition to clearance of the backlog of stagnated promotions, we also wish to express our appreciation for the increase in productivity bonuses, provision of end-of-year welfare packages for staff, and the revision of the Financial Guide to the Condition of Service, which now addresses our members’ concerns about inflationary pressures.”
Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
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ANLCA Chieftain Emerges FELCBA’s VP

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National Secretary of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Elder Olumide Fakanlu, has been elected Vice President of the Federation of ECOWAS Licensed Customs Brokers Association (FELCBA).
The election took place during the FELCBA Congress, held from Tuesday, June 17th to Thursday, June 19th, 2025, in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Fakanlu’s emergence as Vice President marks a significant achievement for Nigeria within the regional customs brokerage community.
Apart from Fakanlu, Secretary of the Seme Chapter of ANLCA, Austin Nwosu, was also elected, securing the role of Secretary of Relations with Institutions.
The Nigerian delegation played an active role in the congress, with Michael Ebeatu nominated as a member of the electoral officer team, ensuring a fair and transparent election process.
The three-day congress concluded with delegates undertaking a visit to the Sierra Leone Port, offering insights into the host nation’s maritime operations, followed by a recreational trip to the Tokeh Beach.
The newly elected executives are expected to lead FELCBA in its efforts to harmonize customs brokerage practices, promote trade facilitation, and advocate for the interests of licensed customs brokers across the ECOWAS sub-region.
Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
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NSC, Police Boost Partnership On Port Enforcement 

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In a bid to enhance more enforcement in the nation’s Port, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) has reaffirmed its commitment to stronger inter-agency collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
The Council said the collaboration is aimed at enhancing stronger enforcement, compliance and improve operational efficiency across Nigeria’s ports.
Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of  NSC, Dr. Pius Akutah, made this known during a visit to the  Inspector-General of Police, Dr. Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, at the Force Headquarters, Abuja.
The visit, which he said, focused on strengthening institutional synergy, comes in the wake of growing responsibilities for the NSC under the newly created Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy.
Akutah emphasized the critical role of security agencies in supporting port operations and ensuring regulatory compliance.
He called for the posting of police officers to assist the Council’s monitoring and enforcement teams at key port locations including Lagos, Warri, Onne, Port Harcourt, and Calabar.
“The posting will complement the activities of our revived task teams and enhance our ability to enforce standards across the maritime logistics chain”, he said.
Earlier, the Inspector-General of Police, Dr. Egbetokun, assured the Council of the Force’s readiness to continue supporting the growth of the maritime sector.
The IGP acknowledged that compliance enforcement is essential to the successful implementation of Nigeria’s Blue Economy objectives.
“The NSC and NPF are expected to deepen collaboration in the months ahead, with a shared focus on building a secure, efficient, and competitive port environment”, to the IGP emphasized.
Chinedu Wosu
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