Business
NCDMB, APPO Recommits To African Local Content Development
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), and the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (APPO) have recommitted their partnership towards establishing African centres of excellence in local content development.
The Tide gathered that both organisations were also set to encourage African petroleum producing countries to develop specialised capacities in core oil and gas services, and patronise one another in their respective areas of expertise.
This came to the fore, Thursday, when the Secretary-General of APPO, Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim, visited the Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, at the agency’s liaison office in Abuja.
Information made available to newsmen by the Department of Corporate Communications and Zonal Coordination of the NCDMB quoted the APPO scribe as having reiterated his organisation’s proposal to partner NCDMB towards establishing centres of excellence in key aspects of the oil and gas industry.
Dr. Ibrahim said the NCDMB’s Oil and Gas parks would serve as centres of excellence, and accommodate original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and investors from other African Oil Producing countries.
“Similar centres would be established in other African countries. Some firms had approached APPO to indicate interest to invest in Nigerian oil and gas sector, particularly in the oil and gas parks.
“It’s imperative for African oil producing countries to collaborate closely, since none of them had sufficient technical and financial capacity to operate independently. Close collaboration will actualise the noble objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA)”, the APPO Scribe said.
Using Nigeria’s decades of experience in the oil and gas industry as reference point, Ibrahim charged NCDMB to use its capacity building initiatives and facilities to train technicians and personnel who can work in key areas of the Oil and Gas industry across Africa.
He also invited the NCDMB to partner and participate in the 4th African Local Content Roundtable (ALCR), planned to hold in Congo, and expected to be hosted by the Ministry of Hydrocarbons of the Republic of Congo.
According to him, there is the need for the Board to reach out more to African Oil producers, sharing its success stories with those countries that looked up to Nigeria for guidance in local content, Oil and Gas operations.
APPO, he said, was determined to change the perception that African Oil producing countries would continue to rely on foreign nations and external institutions to harness their petroleum resources.
“Africa Oil producers must accelerate steps in innovating technology and providing the funding needed for the sector’s operations, one of the steps being the establishment of the African Energy Bank.
“I commend the NCDMB for achieving consistent Nigerian content development in the past 14 years, underpinned by a robust framework, backed with strong political will.
“Most African nations lack such structures, and subsumed their local content policies and agencies under their petroleum ministry or the national oil company”, he said.
In his remarks, the NCDMB’S Scribe reeled out the Board’s strategic support to other African petroleum nations, including the Memorandum of Agreement (MoU) on collaboration it signed with the Petroleum Commission, Ghana, in 2024, and with the Senegalese’s National Local Content Monitoring Committee in 2023.
Other strategic support initiatives of the Board, according to the Board’s scribe, were capacity building workshops it organised for other African Oil producing countries.
“The Board is equally projecting and showcasing the capacities of established Nigerian Oil and Gas service companies to other African nations. We’re opening new vista of opportunities for them in those markets”, Ogbe said.
He underlined the need for Nigerian service companies to partner local companies whenever they enter other African countries, and to obey local laws, expressing delight over the proposal to designate the Oil and Gas parks as African centres of excellence, and affirmed that the parks would be completed and commissioned this year, 2025.
“The NCDMB has started inviting manufacturers and other intending investors to apply and take up shop floors in the parks. And so I want to extend our invitation to OEMs and other investors from across Africa and beyond to invest in the Oil and Gas parks. Nigerian content emphasises domiciliation and domestication of capacities, and not indigenisation.
“I thank you, APPO Secretary-General for your meritorious service to the African energy industry which has culminated in the establishment the African Energy Bank with headquarters in Abuja, the Nigerian capital city. Secretary-General, continue serving the African Oil and Gas industry even after the expiration your tenure at APPO”, Ogbe added.
Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
Continue Reading
The trapatriate Unions conprising the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), and the Air Transport Service Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, (ATSSSAN), has given 72 hours Ultimatum to Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria FAAN, Omagwa Airport, Portharcourt to revise its recent decision on the concession of Tollgates and Parks to private hands.
The chairman of the Trapatriate Union, Comrade Felix Ohwoefe gave the Ultimatum yesterday immediately after the joint Unions meeting held at the Airport office of the union, Omagwa, Portharcourt.
Comrade Ohwoefe who double as the chairman of the National Union of NUATE said the two Unions have agreed to take drastic actions if the Authority of the Airport declined to step down it’s decision of concessioning the major revenue points to private hands.
According to the Union chairman, the two union was not aware of the concession plans, and that there were no due process to the procedures.
Comrade Ohwoefe said any attempt for the Airport Management to decline it’s demands towards the concession will result to barricading all entrance and access points of the Airport.
Expressing the the challenges associated to the concession, the Union Chairman said the gesture might resulted to massive sack of workers in the Airport.
The chairman also expressed foul play on the part of either individuals or government in the terms and conditions so given to the concessionaires, demanding the reasons of contracting the automated points to private hands for only 14 millions, when the FAAN is presently generating over 28 million naira monthly, even when the tariff was not reviewed upwards.
He describes the process to the procedures as fraud with intention to increase unemployment in the state.
“We are not against the concession of the Automated points, but due process must be followed. If government is concessioning the place, we are asking what will happen to our workers in the existing units.
“Secondly, if the concessionaires is taken over, they must pay higher than what the FAAN is generating presently, we are generating to the Management over 28 Millions monthly, but we had that the private company is required to pay only 14 Millions monthly, which is far below 5 percents of what we are generating presently, even when the tariff is increased, which means there is a foul play.
“The process is fraud either on the part of individual in the Government, or Government itself.
” The unions is saying no to the Concession until we come to a terms of understanding ourselves., we are afraid of loosing workers, we don’t want to loose any workers if due process is not followed in this hard of economy, we even demanding for employment of more workers in FAAN.” Comrade Ohwoefe said.
The Union used the opportunity to called on the minister of aviation, and the President of the Country, Bola Tinubu to intervene.
When contacting the Management of the Airport Authority through the head of Corporate Affairs, Dr Ngozi V. Onyeanwuna-Nwosu, she said the management has not given her the approval to say something.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has announced designated pick-up points for individuals wishing to obtain their Go-Cashless cards ahead of the March 1, 2026 deadline.
This was announced in a statement signed by the Director Public Affairs and Consumer protection, Henry Agbebire and made available to the Tide last Friday in Portharcourt.
According to the statement, Go-Cashless cards is at all FAAN commercial offices and access gates of Airports in the country .
The release further stated that cards will also be available at designated branches of Fidelity Bank Plc from March 16, 2026.
FAAN in the statement said the cashless policy followed the Federal Government directive mandating all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to transition to a cashless system to enhance transparency and reduce revenue leakages as well improve transaction traceability in the Aviation sector.
FAAN reiterated its commitment to full compliance with the directive, appealing to the public for their understanding and cooperation during the transition period.
FAAN also inform that the Go-Cashless cards can still be obtained at the designated points after the March 1, deadline.
The Authority assures airport users that the initiative will promote faster, safer, and more convenient transactions across its airports nationwide.
By: Enoch Epelle
Leading financial institution, Fidelity Bank Plc, has announced the launch of the second edition of its flagship women-empowerment initiative, the HerFidelity Apprenticeship Programme 2.0 (HAP 2.0).
According to the report, the programme is designed to equip women with practical, income?generating skills and structured pathways to entrepreneurship.
Accordingly, the HAP 2.0 will build on the success of its inaugural edition held in 2023.
During media chat with journalists to herald the launch of HAP 2.0, the Divisional Head, Product Development, Fidelity Bank Plc, Osita Ede, explained that the initiative has been enhanced to deliver greater impact.
He said HerFidelity Apprenticeship Programme 2.0 reflects their commitment to continuous improvement, having evaluated feedback from the first edition, they have returned with stronger partnerships and deeper mentorship programmes to ensure that women acquire not just skills, but sustainable economic opportunities.
Mr Ede, who said the programme is guided with real?world learning, also said that participants will undergo intensive apprenticeship training under reputable institutions and industry experts across selected fields such as hair styling, shoe making, auto mechatronics, and interior decoration.
Additionally, he said HerFidelity Apprenticeship Programme 2.0 goes beyond skills acquisition by offering participants a wide range of business advisory services.
These include business and financial literacy training, mentorship support throughout the apprenticeship journey, access to Fidelity Bank’s women?focused and SME financial solutions, as well as guidance on business formalisation and growth strategies.
Emphasizing the bank’s vision further, Ede said: “By integrating structured mentorship with entrepreneurial development, Fidelity Bank is positioning women not just as trainees, but as future employers, innovators, and economic contributors within their communities.
This aligns with our mandate to help individuals grow, businesses thrive, and economies prosper”.
It is noteworthy that interested participants are encouraged to indicate their interest by visiting https://bit.ly/
It is important to note that Fidelity Bank Plc is ranked among the best banks in Nigeria, with a full-fledged Commercial Deposit Money Bank serving over 10 million customers through digital banking channels, with 255 business offices in Nigeria and United Kingdom subsidiary, FidBank UK Limited.
It is reported that the Bank is a recipient of multiple local and international Awards, including the 2024 Excellence in Digital Transformation & MSME Banking Award by BusinessDay Banks and Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards, the 2024 Most Innovative Mobile Banking Application award for its Fidelity Mobile App by Global Business Outlook, and the 2024 Most Innovative Investment Banking Service Provider award by Global Brands Magazine.
By: Nkpemenyie mcdominic, Lagos
-
Politics4 days agoSenate Urges Tinubu To Sack CAC Boss
-
News4 days agoAmend Constitution To Accommodate State Police, Tinubu Tells Senators
-
News4 days agoDisu Takes Over As New IGP …Declares Total War On Corruption, Impunity
-
Business4 days ago
Crisis Response: EU-project Delivers New Vet. Clinic To Katsina Govt.
-
Business4 days ago
President Tinubu Approves Extension Ban On Raw Shea Nut Export
-
Business4 days ago
President Tinubu Extends Raw Shea Nuts Export Ban To 2027
-
Business4 days ago
Fidelity Bank To Empower Women With Sustainable Entrepreneurship Skills, HAP2.0
-
Sports4 days ago
NDG: Rivers Coach Appeal To NDDC In Talent Discovery