The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken October Lokpobiri has inaugurated the 4th Governing Council of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).
The inauguration of the Governing Council which took place recently in Abuja is coming nearly three months after its members were public by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
By the provisions of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, members of the Governing Council are drawn from representatives of select institutions connected with the oil and gas industry.
Maritime Bits had reported that President Tinubu had on December 7, 2023 announced dissolution of the third Governing Council which has Engr. Wabote as the Executive Secretary nine months ahead of the expiration of its tenure and the unveiling of a new one which has Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe as the new helmsman.
In the same vein, by the provisions of the NOGICD Act, the Governing Council would be chaired by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil) while the Ogbe would serve as the Secretary of the Council.
Other members include the Executive Vice President, Gas, Power, and New Energy, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mrs. Oritsemyiwa Eyesan; the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Engr. Gbenga Komolafe; representative of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Bekearedebo Augusta Warrens; and the Chairman of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), Mr. Nicholas Odinuwe.
Others include the Commissioner for Insurance and Chief Executive Officer of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Mr. Olorundare Sunday Thomas; Chairman of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering (COREN), Prof. Sadiq Abubakar; and the representative of the Nigerian Content Consultative Forum (NCCF), Dr. Raphael Samuel.
While congratulating the members of the Governing Council on their nomination, Lokpobiri noted that it was based on their expertise and experience in various fields of endeavours.
Lokpobiri who was the pioneer Speaker of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly explained that the NOGICD Act provided for institutional representation on the Governing Council to enable the agency to benefit from the expertise and professionalism of key organisations and change the narrative in the oil and gas industry.
He confirmed that NCDMB had recorded tremendous achievements in the oil and gas industry in the last 13 years of its existence and had achieved many of the set objectives.
The minister solicited the cooperation of the new Council members to raise the bar of Nigerian content development even as he added that many African countries are coming to understudy Nigeria’s local content model and it was incumbent on Nigeria to deepen the level of implementation and stay ahead of other nations.
He stated that one of the core mandates of the NCDMB is to build indigenous human and infrastructural capacities so that Nigerians can play critical roles in the oil and gas industry.
He highlighted that NCDMB was one of the few agencies chaired by the Minister, attributing it to the importance of the organisation to the national economy. He also mentioned that section 75 of the NOGICD Act mandates the Governing Council to manage and superintend the affairs of the Board among other duties.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO), National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Mr. Olorundare Sunday Thomas thanked Lokpobiri for the nomination and promised to uphold the confidence reposed in them.
He affirmed that NCDMB has performed creditably and Nigerian content implementation had become the envy of many countries.
“A lot of value has been added to the oil and gas industry and the Nigerian economy and I thank those who originated the NOGICD Act. We will do our best and we will continue the good work started by the NCDMB”, he said.
Ogbe in his comments at the inauguration promised to work closely with all the members of the Governing Council to take the Board to greater heights.
