Oil & Energy
Oil & Gas Growth: NCDMB Tasks African Nations On Unity
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), has called for stronger partnerships among African oil and gas producing nations, stressing that collaboration is the only path to sustainable development in the continent’s energy sector.
Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Felix Ogbe, made the call while speaking at the 2025 Africa Oil Week, of the Africa Content Forum, in Accra, Ghana.
Represented by the Board’s Director of Corporate Services, Dr. Abdulmalik Halilu, Ogbe warned that no single African country can fully develop its local content potential without working closely with its neighbors.
He highlighted that Africa holds more than 10 percent of the world’s crude oil reserves and eight percent of proven natural gas deposits, in addition to vast renewable energy resources regretting however, that even with the abundance, the continent still exports raw materials to developed economies while inter-country trade remains minimal.
Ogbe argued that this trend must change, insisting that Africa’s oil wealth must drive industrialization, regional trade, value retention, and prosperity for its people.
Calling for a stronger policy framework, Ogbe emphasized that local content initiatives must go beyond borders to include human capital development, research, technology, and enforcement mechanisms.
He urged African leaders to reward innovation and technological advancement, noting that without research and development, local content policies would remain stagnant.
On the importance of synergy, Halilu compared Africa’s opportunities to global aviation manufacturing, where components of a Boeing or Airbus are sourced from different countries. He suggested that by specializing and trading with one another, African nations can build a thriving energy sector, each country leveraging its comparative advantage.
Ogbe also stressed the need for a shift in mindset, urging leaders to stop viewing local content as a social responsibility project and instead see it as an economic strategy to keep capital within african borders while building industrial and technological capacity.
“Let us build an African energy sector that is owned, operated, and sustained by Africans. A sector that provides jobs for our youth, creates wealth for our nations, and brings true prosperity to our continent”, he said.