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NCDMB Hold Inaugural Meeting, To Collaborate on Local Content Implementation

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February 09, 2024

The Senate Committee on Local Content on Wednesday held the first interactive session with the leadership of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) at the Senate Building at Abuja and resolved to collaborate and deepen   the   implementation   of   local   content   in   the   oil   and   gas   industry   and linkage sectors.The Chairman of the Committee, Senator  Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan  moderated the meeting and assured that the committee would not antagonize the Board and other entities under its supervision but would collaborate towards e+ective implementation of the Board’s mandate for the benet of Nigerians. She   expressed   concern   over   the   parlous   state   of   the   economy,   particularly   the alarming level of unemployment which has  fuelled   an   increase  in   criminality. She emphasised the  need  to  deepen   the  implementation  of  the  Nigerian  Oil  and   Gas Industry   Content  Development  (NOGICD  Act,   to   create  employment  opportunities from the activities in the oil industry and catalyse other sectors of the economy. She requested the Board to submits performance reports on the implementation of the   NOGICD   Act,   specifically   on   the   Board’s   third-party   investments,   capacity building programmes, expatriate quota management and research and development. She also requested the Board to recommend sections of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry  Content  Development  (NOGICD)  Act  that  needed to   be amended   by the National Assembly.Other   questions   raised   by   the   committee   concerned   the   status   of   the   Nigerian Content  Development  Fund  (NCDF) and   the performance of   the Nigerian   Content Intervention Fund (NCI Fund).The Committee Chair criticised the international oil companies (IOCs) in Nigeria for not investing in the petrochemical sub-sector and other associated manufacturing activities, whereas IOCs in other oil producing jurisdictions make such investments and contribute signicantly to those economies. She announced that the committee would invite the IOCs and other relevant agencies of Government, with a view to compel the companies to create tangible value in the Nigerian economy beyond the extraction and sale of crude oil. She said: “We need to get them around the table and tell them what we want as a country as against watching them export crude oil  only.”In   his   comments,   the  Executive   Secretary   NCDMB,   Engr.   Felix   Omatsola   Ogbe thanked the committee for adopting a cooperative approach and assured that the Board would provide all the requested documentations  and partner exectively, to achieve the mandate of the committee and that of the Board.

On   the   Board’s   performance,   the   Executive   Secretary   stated   that   the  Nigerian Content level for 2022 and 2023 stood at 54 percent and the Board is on course to  accomplish  the  70  percent  target for 2027, as set in the Nigerian Content roadmap. On   international   oil   companies’   model   of   operation   in   Nigeria,   the   Executive Secretary explained that most oil conglomerates have di+erent arms, which includes the downstream companies which make such investments in the petrochemical and linkage sub-sectors. He however, noted that most operating companies in Nigeria do not have such subsidiaries in the country, hinting that the Board is willing to support  indigenous rms that are interested in such ventures.He added that the Board lacked the mandate to compel the IOCs to change their business model in Nigeria but was collaborating with some oil companies to develop  the Nigerian Oil and Gas Parks Scheme (NOGaPs), which is designed to manufacture oil and gas equipment and components as well as other manufacturing and research and technology programmes. The Director Finance and Personnel Management, NCDMB, Dr. Obinna Oli provided clarity on the performance of the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCI Fund) and the Nigerian Content Development Fund (NCDF). He explained that the NCI Fund is managed by the Bank of Industry (BoI) on behalf of the Board, and US$300m was deposited with  the BOI. He claried that the NCI Fund is a portion of the NCDF – which is pooled  from the  1%  percent of every contract  awarded in  the upstream sector of the Nigerian oil and gas industry, as specied in section 104 of the NOGICD Act. He   also   revealed   that   BoI   had   loaned   out   US$330m   to   70   qualied   oil   and   gas companies, with the additional $30m accruing from the interests from the loans. He mentioned that another Fund created by the NCDMB is the US$50m domiciled with the Nigerian Export-Import Bank and it is broken into $30m for working capital and capacity building and $20m for Women in Oil and Gas. Dr. Oli indicated that eight rms  have   accessed the  $30m   working capital  and   capacity  building  fund,   while three rms have successfully accessed the Women in oil and gas fund. He said: “We  want   serious   minded   women   entrepreneurs   in   the   oil   and   gas   industry   to   step forward   and   access   this   fund.   That   is   the   only   way   it   can   make   impact   in   the  economy.” The Director asserted that the NCI Fund is the most successful fund scheme in the country, basing his assessment on the faithful repairment by the beneciaries and the growth of the fund.  He mentioned that the Bank of Industry carries out quarterly project   monitoring   on   the   loan   beneciaries,   while   the   NCDMB   holds   an   annual monitoring review on the fund scheme and beneciaries. On   the   proposed   amendment   of   the   NOGICD   Act,   the   Director   Monitoring   and Evaluation, Mr. Abdulmalik Halilu explained that concerted e+orts were made during the   tenure  of   the   9th  National   Assembly   to   review  the   legislation   and   the   Board developed a compendium on areas that it believed should be amended. He promised that the Board would submit the compendium to the Senate so it could become the reference point for further discussions and considerations.