Business
Content Board Seeks Stakeholders Commitment To Compliance
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.
The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Felix Omatsola-Ogbe, has reeled out initiatives evolved by the Board in its contribution towards capacity building for youths across the country.
The NCDMB Scribe revealed this recently at the 2024 Practical Nigerian Content (PNC) Youth Forum held in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.
Tagged “empowering the future: unlocking the opportunities in the Niger Delta oil and gas sector”, the event featured three thematic lecture series delivered by the founder and leader of the Niger Delta Peace Coalition (NDPC), Mr. Zik Gbemre, the Bayelsa State Commissioner for Youths Development, Mr. Alfred Kemepado Nimizigha, and the Chief Executive Officer, PE Energy ltd., Mr Daere Akabo.
Ogbe, who was represented by the Manager, Capacity Building of the Board, Mr. Olugbenga Sheba, noted that the NCDMB has recently partnered the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG) to commence the Nigerian Content Human Capacity Development (NC-HCD) in the oil and gas sector for the training of 331 young graduates.
“As you already know, the NCDMB was established by the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act of 2010.
“Our mandate is to develop human capabilities and material capacities in the Nigerian oil and gas industry, and to monitor and enforce compliance with the provisions of the act”, the NCDMB Scribe said.
“The theme for this year’s youth event is ‘Empowering the future: Unlocking the opportunities in the Niger Delta Oil and Gas Sector’. This theme speaks to our determination and ongoing efforts to introduce youths from the Niger Delta to opportunities that abound in the oil and gas industry.
“Few weeks ago, we partnered the NLNG to kick start the Nigerian Content Human Capacity Development (NC-HCD) basic training programme for a total of 331 young graduates. The training covers ICT, Engineering, Welding and Fabrication, Non-destructive Testing (NDT), Lifting and working at Height, Quality Management Systems, Marine and offshore services and Facility Management and Maintenance.
“We also organised training for youths with the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), WalterSmith Petroleum, and other organizations. And as part of the NCDMB’s initiatives in the Niger Delta, we’ve developed two oil and gas parks at Emeyal one in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, and Odukpani in Cross River State”, he added.
By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
The Federal Government College, Warri, Delta State, has won the maiden ‘’Anti-Corruption” debate organised for select Secondary Schools across the six geopolitical zones of the nation by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), in partnership with the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) at the Content Tower, headquarters of the Board, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
The Tide reports that at the debate umpires said following the evaluation from the presentations by the two finalists, Federal Government College, Kazaure, Jigawa State, scored a total of 74.4 points as first runner-up while the Federal Government College, Delta State garnered 76.4 points to emerge winners.
Other schools that participated in the various stages of the debate leading to the finals were Federal Government College, Odi, Bayelsa State; Federal Government College, Okigwe, Imo State; Federal Government College, Ijanikin, Lagos State; Federal Government College, Maiduguri, Borno State; and Federal Government College, Rubochi, Abuja.
The Tide further reports that the theme for the 2024 International Day of Anti-Corruption was, “Effective Whistleblower Protection Mechanism: A Critical Tool in the Fight Against Corruption”, while topic for the debate was, “Impact of integrity on the expansion of public trust and confidence in governance.
Earlier in his keynote address, the Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, restated the Board’s stance against corruption, noting that fighting corruption is a must for the Board.
He reaffirmed his commitment to ideas and programmes geared towards putting an end to corruption within the system, and lauded the Federal Ministry of Education for approving the participation of students in the event.
While commending the ICPC for their support and continuous oversight over the activities of the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACTU) of NCDMB, Ogbe also thanked the anti-graft unit of the Board for putting the event together, noting that they were doing well in their efforts at combating corruption.
“To be clear on what today is about, we’re marking and celebrating International Anti-Corruption Day (IACD), with focus on raising the consciousness of our youths on the ills of corruption and how it stunts the socio-economic development of any Nation.
“This is to send a strong message for extra vigilance by all of us in combating the menace of Corruption from all fronts”, the NCDMB boss said.
By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
The Federal Government has earmarked N700billion from the federation account to implement the distribution of free electricity meters under the Presidential Metering Initiative.
This was disclosdd by the Special Adviser to the Minister of Power on Strategic Communications and Media, Bolaji Tunji.
Tunji, who, in a chat with The Tide’s source noted that the PMI was on course with a target to deliver two million meters yearly, also revealed that the amount reserved for the project had reached N700 billion and procurement had started.
“The Presidential Metering Initiative is still on course. Two million meters every year, delivery of the first batch will start by the first quarter of next year. About N700billion provision has been made, and the money is ready”, he said.
He further revealed that the government would fulfil its promise to deliver 1.3million electricity meters out of the 3.2 million meters under the World Bank Distribution Sector Reform Programme initiative this month, saying that “The DISREP programme will commence this month”.
An analysis of the Federal Account Allocation Committee meeting minutes obtained by our correspondent between April and August showed that the government had saved N420billion from a monthly deduction of N100billion.
The amount deducted from the monthly federation revenue before allocation to the three tiers of government was aimed at bridging the metering gap in the country, which currently stands at 50 per cent.
Recall that N120 billion was deducted from April revenue as the first tranche for the PMI, bringing the amount deducted from the federation account for the initiative as of August to N420billion.
In May, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, said the government would provide an initial N75billion as seed capital while the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority pledged to inject N250 billion annually for the initiative.
The Minister also disclosed that the initiative would leverage debt financing from diverse financial institutions to bolster the PMI’s resources.
The Managing Director of Abuja Distribution Electricity Distribution Company, Mr. Victor Ojelabi, recently said the PMI would unlock about N1trillion in revenue currently tied up in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry due to a large number of unmetered customers.
Under the initiative, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission announced the approval of N21billion for the 11 electricity Distribution Companies to provide meters for end-use customers at zero cost.
The Distribution Sector Recovery Programme is a comprehensive initiative aimed at addressing the challenges and inefficiencies within Nigeria’s electricity distribution sector.
Recently, the NERC acknowledged that the country’s metering gap remains substantial despite installing 3.03million meters since privatising the power sector in 2013.
It said 6.15 million out of 13.33 million registered customers had been metered, bringing the metering rate to 46.14 per cent in 2024.
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