By Kehinde Ibrahim, Lagos
THE Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has celebrated former members of its workforce for their contributions to the development of Nigeria’s local content framework and the growth of indigenous participation in the oil and gas industry.
The recognition came at a Retirees’ Celebration Dinner held at the Conference Centre of the Nigerian Content Tower (NCT), the Board’s headquarters in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, where 14 former employees drawn from the agency’s seven directorates received Special Awards of Excellence for their years of dedicated service.
The event also provided an opportunity for pioneering management staff to reflect on the challenges that confronted the implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, 2010, as well as the progress recorded in the years since its enactment.
Speaking at the event, former Director of the Legal Services Directorate, Mohammed Babaginda Umar, recalled the initial resistance from major players in the oil and gas industry following the introduction of the NOGICD Act.
According to him, the legislation represented a significant shift in the structure of the Nigerian oil and gas industry by seeking to increase the participation of Nigerians in value-adding activities and promote the use of locally sourced goods, services and human resources.
Umar said the Legal Services Directorate played an important role in helping industry stakeholders understand the objectives and implications of the new legislation at a time when local content development was still relatively unfamiliar to many operators.
“Local content was new in the oil and gas sector,” he said, noting that many companies were initially reluctant to fully embrace the provisions of the law.
He explained that the Board had to deploy tact, engagement and sustained advocacy to build understanding and encourage compliance among industry players.
Umar said the gradual acceptance of the local content regime by oil and gas companies represented one of the significant achievements of the policy, pointing to the growth of local content from about five per cent in 2010 to 61 per cent.
“Local content has come to stay,” he declared, adding that the progress made by Nigeria had attracted the attention of other African countries seeking to learn from the country’s experience.
He urged serving employees of the Board to remain committed to their responsibilities and sustain the momentum recorded in the development of local content.
Another retiree, Daziba Patrick Obah, who served in several capacities, including pioneer Director of the Planning, Research and Statistics Directorate, Acting Executive Secretary of NCDMB between 2016 and 2017, and later Director of Corporate Services, reflected on some of the challenges encountered during the development of the Nigerian Content Tower.
Obah recalled the complexities associated with the construction of the 17-storey facility, from the substructure through the superstructure, noting that several challenges had to be addressed during his tenure as head of the Board.
He also highlighted the importance of research and development to the sustainability of local content initiatives, particularly in an emerging policy environment where there was limited precedent for the Board to draw from.
According to him, funding research activities initially generated differing views, with some stakeholders proposing that the NCDMB should bear the cost while others argued that the oil and gas industry should provide the funding.
He said the Board eventually assumed responsibility for research funding and demonstrated its capacity to manage such projects through the successful organisation of the maiden Research and Development Fair and Conference in Lagos in September 2017.
Obah said the initiative helped reinforce the importance of research and innovation to the development of local content and the broader oil and gas industry.
Also speaking, former Director of Planning, Research and Statistics, Isaac Yalah, who had earlier served in the Finance and Personnel Management Directorate, described NCDMB as an institution that provided its employees with the tools, training and opportunities required to improve productivity.
He said the commitment of staff was critical to the achievements recorded by the Board, noting that employees had to put considerable effort into meeting the institution’s objectives.
Yalah described the $350 million Nigerian Content Intervention Fund as a major intervention in efforts to deepen indigenous participation in the oil and gas industry.
According to him, the single-digit financing facility enabled several Nigerian oilfield service companies to obtain funding for operational assets and expand their participation in the sector.
He also pointed to the emergence and growth of indigenous companies in the upstream industry, including Renaissance Africa Energy Company, Seplat Energy and Oando, as part of the broader impact of local content implementation.
Yalah urged serving employees to remain committed to continuous learning, professionalism and institutional development.
Another former senior official, Dr. Ginah Otonye Ginah, who served as General Manager, Corporate Communications and Zonal Coordination, described his years at NCDMB as a period of significant professional development.
Ginah said his experience at the Board provided valuable insight into institutional management and organisational development, while the training opportunities provided to employees contributed significantly to their professional growth.
He also highlighted the Board’s efforts to promote digital awareness and literacy in oil-producing communities in the Niger Delta and other parts of the country through the establishment of Information and Communication Technology centres in secondary schools.
Speaking on behalf of the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, the Director of Monitoring and Evaluation, Esueme Dan Kikile, said the dinner was organised to recognise and honour individuals who had dedicated significant portions of their professional careers to the Board.
Kikile said the retirees’ contributions extended beyond their formal responsibilities, stressing that they had helped build institutional knowledge, develop younger employees and strengthen relationships within the organisation.
He said their experience and contributions had become part of the institutional foundation on which the Board continues to build.
“On behalf of Management and the entire staff of the Board, we wish you good health, peace, happiness and fulfilment, and many rewarding years ahead, surrounded by family, friends and loved ones,” he said.
The celebration also featured testimonials from serving employees who had worked closely with the retirees, including former Technical Assistants who shared their experiences and recollections of working with the award recipients.
The testimonials highlighted the retirees’ roles in mentoring younger employees, providing professional guidance and supporting colleagues during their years of service.
For many of the serving employees, the session offered an opportunity to acknowledge the professional relationships and institutional lessons passed down by the former officials.
The event also featured a dance session involving the retirees and a cultural performance, creating an informal setting for former and serving employees to interact and celebrate the contributions of the award recipients.
Other retirees honoured at the ceremony included Dr. Ama Ikuru, former Director, Capacity Building; Adelana Akintunde, former Director, Monitoring and Evaluation; Dr. Obinna Ofili, former Director, Finance and Personnel Administration; and Angela Okoro, former General Manager, Corporate Communications and Zonal Coordination.
Others were Taridouye Gagariga, former Manager, Properties; Ombu Atonbara, former Manager, Audit; Okpetu Gabriel, former Deputy Manager, Capacity Building; and Peter Isu Odo, former Manager, Security.
The dinner served both as a recognition of the retirees’ individual contributions and as a reflection on the institutional evolution of NCDMB since the introduction of the NOGICD Act.
From the initial challenges of securing industry acceptance to the expansion of indigenous participation, the experiences shared at the event underscored the gradual development of Nigeria’s local content framework and the role played by successive generations of NCDMB officials in its implementation.
