7.7 BILLION NAIRA SAGA: SAHARA REPORTERS REPORT IS FALSE AND MALICIOUS

AJAGBE ADEYEMINTESLIM

SPONSORED BY: H&H

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) wishes to firmly and unequivocally rebut the false, malicious, and misleading publication by Sahara Reporters on February 12, 2025, titled – EXCLUSIVE: NIGERIAN CONTENT BOARD NCDMB BOSS OGBE SPENDS N7 BILLION ON CONSULTANCY, OVER 580 MILLION ON 5-DAY LONDON TRAINING, LOGISTICS, ALLOWANCES.

The publication is riddled with falsehoods, gross inaccuracies and baseless inferences.

We wish to state that neither the Board nor the Executive Secretary spent the amount stated in the headline of the referenced statement.

It is a fact that in 2017, the Board developed a 10-Year Strategic Roadmap underpinned by five pillars and four enablers.

The 10-Year Strategic Roadmap targets in-country retention of 70% spend in the oil and gas industry by 2027, amongst other measurable targets.

One of the four enablers of the 10-Year Strategic Roadmap is Stakeholder Collaboration and Engagement, borne out of a need to ensure harmonious policy and regulatory implementation by all agencies and institutions of government.

It is against this background that the Board has every two years organised a Strategic Workshop with Heads of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies of government that pertain to the oil and gas industry to interrogate and find areas of alignment in the implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, 2010.

In carrying out this Strategic Workshop and every other activity of NCDMB, due process was followed in ensuring that all financial expenditures were made following approved financial and procurement guidelines.

We wish to emphasize that NCDMB operates under strict government regulations and oversight bodies.

It is regrettable that Sahara Reporters, known for its sensationalism and lack of investigative rigour, has once again published unverified claims designed to mislead the public and tarnish the hard-earned reputation of our Executive Secretary and esteemed organization.

The NCDMB categorically refutes the false claims made in the publication.

The allegations of misappropriation to the tune of N7.7 billion without due approval are entirely baseless, mischievous, and aimed at tarnishing the reputation of the Board and the Executive Secretary.

There was no such expenditure of N7.7 billion naira by the Board for consultancy services.

We wish to emphasize that the NCDMB led by Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, operates with the highest standards of accountability, transparency, and due process in all its operations.

All expenditures in the Board are subjected to rigorous approval processes in accordance with the provisions of the Public Procurement Act 2007, our enabling law, the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act (NOGICD) Act 2010 and other relevant statutes and policies.

The Board remains committed to upholding the principles of good governance in line with its statutory mandate.

It is on account of our strict adherence to due process that the NCDMB achieved remarkable milestones, including ranking first three consecutive times in the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) Compliance Report in the Ease of Doing Business, Transparency and Accountability among Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) of government in Nigeria.

Additionally, the Board received the Nigeria Govtech Award and the Distinguished Govtech Trailblazers Award from the Bureau for Public Sector Reform (BPSR) for excellence in digital governance and public sector innovation.

The NCDMB remains resolutely committed to its core mandate of building local capacity and empowering Nigerians to participate effectively in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

Our initiatives are aligned with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, aimed at empowering Nigerians and creating sustainable jobs.

We encourage members of the public and media houses to always verify their sources of information before rushing to publish the ‘’so-called exclusive report.’’

The NCDMB has an open and accessible corporate communications team with verifiable addresses and contact details that if the above referenced online platform had bothered to reach out to for clarification, this undue sensationalism would not have happened.

We believe this is a hatchet job and thus avoided the time held journalism practice of hearing the other side.

We assure the public that this malicious, false, and misleading publication will not distract the Executive Secretary from his commitment to driving the Board’s mission.

The Executive Secretary remains steadfast in advancing the goals of the organization and delivering on its mandate for the benefit of all Nigerians.

NCDMB Hosts Nigerian Army Personnel, Showcases Milestones in Local Content Implementation

AJAGBE ADEYEMI TESLIM

SPONSORED BY: H&H

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) on Thursday in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, played host to a visiting team of ranking military officers from the Nigerian Army Resource Centre (NARC), Abuja, who are in the state on a local study tour.

At an interactive session at the Nigerian Content Tower (NCT), corporate headquarters of the NCDMB, the Executive Secretary of the Board, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, presented a portrait of Nigeria’s oil and gas industry in its first 50 years of operation and the highpoints in implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, 2010.

According to him, the earlier phase was marked by capital flight amounting to an estimated US$380 billion, loss of two million jobs as a result of human capital deficits, and less than five per cent in local content. In sharp contrast is the post-NOGICD Act era which has witnessed phenomenal development of in-country capacity and capabilities as a result of creative enforcement and monitoring of industry operations as well as strategic interventions by the NCDMB.

The NCDMB boss explained that local content hit 56 per cent at the end of 2023, which translates into in-country retention of 56 per cent of oil and gas industry yearly spend on operations – a feat that has made the NOGICD Act as well as implementation strategies the model for other oil- and gas-producing countries in Africa.

The target for the NCDMB, he pointed out, is 70 per cent in 2027.
With emphasis he declared that the NCDMB wants to ensure that equipment and tools as well as services required for oil and gas operations are made and procured in Nigeria.

In accounting for the success of the Board thus far and the feasibility of its performance targets in capacity development, he said, “We take research and development seriously,” citing the centres of excellence established, equipped and funded by the Board in the six universities, one in the six geopolitical zones of the country.

The Executive Secretary, who was represented by the Director, Corporate Services and Capacity Building, Dr Ama Ikuru, observed that the Nigerian Army itself has raised the bar in research and development as well as local content, in relation to human capital development and local manufacturing of some components used in military operations.

While conducting the guests, which comprised officers between the ranks of Lieutenant Colonel and General currently undergoing an 11-month Leadership and Strategic Course 3/2024, round different sections and facilities of the Board, Dr Ikuru had the team familiarised with the Board’s Technology Innovation and Incubation Centre (TIIC).

its success story in aiding individuals with innovative ideas and facilitating technology adaptation and process improvement was highlighted.

In further elaboration of the Board’s activities and engagements, the Director, Monitoring and Evaluation, Alhaji Abdulmalik Halilu, noted that there is a history of “mutually beneficial partnership between the Army and the NCDMB,” citing the involvement of the Board’s personnel as resource persons at the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna.

According to him, “It is good the military sees NCDMB as a partner.”
In his own remarks, the General Manager, Corporate Communications and Zonal Coordination, Barr. Esueme Dan Kikile, said the visit of the military officers who are Participants of the Leadership and Strategic Course 3/2024 from the NARC, afforded the Board and guests a useful platform for interaction and knowledge sharing. He urged the guests to “tell the success story of the NCDMB” wherever they find themselves”.

Team leader for the military officers, Major General Abubakar A. Tarfa (retd), explained that the Local Study Tour was part of an 11-month course and that members of the team were all professionals in diverse fields – engineering, medicine, nursing, and administration, among others.

He said the course was designed “To prepare participants for higher responsibilities” and that the tour would provide necessary exposure, to have the officers acquainted with the NCDMB and its role and monitoring programmes that “ensure steady growth in local content” in the oil and gas industry.

Major General Tarfa pointed out that there is “a relationship between leadership, strategy and national security,” and that the training and associated activities underline such realities.

He said “military assistance to civil authority for oil production in the Niger Delta toward national development” was a major motivating factor in their study tour of the state.

Speaking on behalf of participants, Lt. Col. Juliet Aziekwu expressed appreciation for the interactive session, stating, “We are better informed about the NCDMB and its role; we’ll put the knowledge into use.”

Earlier in opening remarks, the Deputy Manager, Corporate Communications and Zonal Coordination, Dr. Obinna Ezeobi, had noted that there was a nexus between what the military officers were in the state to do and what the NCDMB does, that is, capacity building. He said they were thus in the right place.

On the entourage of the NARC team was the Commander of the 16th Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Yenagoa, Brigadier General Oluremi Obolo.

NCDMB ES, SPDC Officials Visit Brightwaters Energy, Laud firm’s Capabilities for Industry Projects

AJAGBE ADEYEMI TESLIM

SPONSORED BY: H&H

The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, in company with senior officials of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) on Tuesday undertook a tour of facilities at Brightwaters Energy Limited, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Executive Secretary NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe leading top oil & gas stakeholders on a facility visit to Brightwaters Energy in Port Harcourt on the 29th of January, 2025.

The tour to the company’s facilities at Choba, Port Harcourt, and Emohua in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State was a follow up to the NCDMB’s boss earlier visit to the company and some pipe coating facilities in May 2024.

At that visit he pledged the Board’s support for local service companies, giving them opportunities in the oil and gas industry and creating jobs in the economy.
The latest visit was to assess Brightwaters Energy’s upgrade of its technical capabilities, which would position them for upcoming industry projects.

Speaking ahead at the visit, Engr. Ogbe conveyed the Board’s determination to ensure that capabilities of local oil and gas service companies are known and adequately utilised by operating companies in the industry to boost local content and provide employment, in line with the economic aspirations of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.

He recalled that Brightwaters had performed well in the execution of projects in the exploration and production segment of the industry over the years with a clientele that included SPDC and Chevron Nigeria Limited, among other major oil and gas operators.

He was convinced that the company has the capacity required for key scopes in upcoming industry projects.

He charged operating oil and gas companies to always support qualified service companies, while ensuring that the best quality service is delivered at all times and on schedule.

In opening remarks at the event, the Community and Corporate Affairs Manager of Brightwaters, Mr. Solomon Aluge, confirmed that the firm had been engaging the team from SPDC and was equipped to carry out heavy or light fabrication works.

He indicated that Brightwaters has carried out many onshore and offshore pipeline engineering and installation works for various clients.

Elaborating on the scope of operations of his company in the oil and gas sector, he pointed out that Brightwaters is “mobilizing for Chevron and Tulcan pipeline works” at the moment.

Earlier in welcome remarks, the Chief Executive Officer of Brightwaters, Mr. Scott Gregory, expressed happiness at the presence of the Executive Secretary, Engr. Ogbe, and the representatives of SPDC at the meeting, assuring all that the company has enormous capabilities for services in the oil and gas industry.

He provided technical details of a number of projects executed by the company offshore and onshore in its many years of operation in Nigeria, noting that some of the upcoming field projects were well within the company’s competencies.

Among key facilities visited in the tour were a blast furnace, where the process of smelting was demonstrated with hot compressed air being blasted into a furnace from below, and a multipurpose offshore construction vessel known as Sea Horizon Derrick Lay Barge, with a heavy-lift capacity of 1,320 tons.

Marine construction activities performed by the vessel, according to the company, include “installation of rigid and flexible pipelines, risers and umbilicals [flexible hoses that connect surface equipment to subsea equipment].”

In his comments after the facility tour, the General Manager Local Content Shell, Mr. Lanre Olawuyi conveyed the company’s good impressions with the facilities and capabilities of Brightwaters Energy.

He affirmed that the technical teams would review their reports and take decisions how to engage the company in some of their upcoming projects. He expressed delight that the company had upgraded its facilities since the last visit in May 2024, and expressed hope that facility would attract more patronage from the oil industry so it would bounce back to its former glory.

On the entourage of the Executive Secretary were the Director, Project Certification and Authorisation Division (PCAD), Engr. Abayomi Bamidele, Deputy Manager, Corporate Communications and Zonal Coordination, Dr. Obinna Ezeobi, a technical staff in the Executive Secretary’s office, Mr. Ilu Ozekhome.