NEWS
NCDMB Completes 83% Of Nigeria’s Content Roadmap
. . . Wabote Cautions Against Relapse In Local Content Drive
The 12th Practical Nigerian Content Forum 2023 got underway on Tuesday at the Nigerian Content Towers, Yenagoa, with the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote announcing that the agency has completed 83 percent of the 96 initiatives it started under the Nigerian Content 10-year Strategic Roadmap.
The strategic roadmap was launched at the end of the year 2017, with the goal of increasing Nigerian Content in the oil and gas industry to 70 percent by the year 2027. The roadmap is undergirded by five pillars and four enablers to drive the focus areas and are supported with short, medium, and long-term initiatives.
Presenting the scorecard of the NCDMB at the PNC which is attended by over 700 oil and gas stakeholders, the Executive Secretary indicated that the Board’s focus would shift to the remaining initiatives, which according to him required some heavy lifting to bring them to fruition.
He reported that Nigerian Content level in 2023 stood at 54 per cent, just like in 2022. The calculation is based on the Board’s monitoring and evaluation of industry activities.
According to him, “this performance is well above the minimum target of 47 percent Nigerian Content set for 2023 by the Board’s Project Management Office (PMO) just like we outperformed the 42 percent Nigerian Content target set for 2022 by achieving 54 percent Nigerian Content.”
He indicated that the top three performers of in-country spend are Shipping, Surveying/ Positioning services, and Inspection/ Testing and Certification with each at 100 percent NC level, while the bottom three performers are Modification and Maintenance at 26 percent NC level; Health, Safety and Environment at 31 percent NC level; and Materials and Procurement at 32 percent NC level.
He expressed concern that the stagnation of the Nigerian Content achievement at 54 percent raised questions on whether we had reached a point of stagnation or an inflection, leading to the decline in Nigerian Content level in the oil and gas industry.
The NCDMB boss, who was making his last PNC Keynote Address as the Executive Secretary of NCDMB reminded the top government functionaries and industry stakeholders that “getting the industry to this level of Nigerian Content is not a walk in the park,” and called on all stakeholders to “play their part to prevent the industry from rolling back to the dark days of implementing Nigerian Content as a token of consolation.
He cautioned that “The nexus between high Nigerian Content levels and the relative peace in the industry must not be lost on us,” noting that a “a lack of leadership backing at all levels opens the door for the practice to take the back seat.”
The Executive Secretary took the occasion to present what he termed “a reflection on the journey in the last seven and a half years of being in the saddle as the Executive Secretary.”
Citing data from the Board’s Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Joint Qualification System (NOGIC-JQS), he said registered indigenous industry operators have increased from 53 in 2018 to 114 in 2023, while indigenous service companies increased from 8,000 to 11,000 within the same period. Also, individual registrations surged from 140,000 to almost 400,000.
Under one of five pillars of the Roadmap, namely, Technical Capability Development, are other major accomplishments, one of which is the increase in in-country fabrication capacity from 60,000 tons per year to 250,000 tons within the aforesaid period.
Engr. Wabote disclosed that eight industrial parks being developed by the Board to support manufacturing and assembly of equipment and input materials required in the industry are at various stages of execution. He reported that the Nigerian Oil and Gas Park Scheme (NOGaPS) at Emeyal-1, in Bayelsa State, and a similar Park at Odukpani in Cross River State are due for commissioning in the first half of 2024.
In a goodwill message, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, commended the NCDMB for its outstanding performance in local content implementation, and for the ongoing PNC Forum.
He assured the industry stakeholders that the Federal Government is committed to promoting cleaner, more sustainable practices within the energy sector, even as the country continues with hydrocarbon extraction.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Lokpobiri was represented at the PNC by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Ambassador Gabriel Aduda. He said Nigeria aligns with the global push for environmental stewardship and would explore all means of making production processes conform to cleaner technologies.
While drawing attention to the theme of the Forum, “Deepening Nigerian Content Amidst Divestments, Domestication and Decarbonisation,” the Minister called on stakeholders to “embrace the challenges that have been posed by divestment to actively promote domestication and steadfastly pursue the path of Decarbonization.”
The Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Alabo Gideon Ekeuwei, lauded the NCDMB and its Management for extraordinary successes and charged participants to explore avenues for collaboration, joint ventures, and partnerships that will help Nigeria to fully harness Nigerian Content potentialities.
NATO air defence systems have intercepted a third ballistic missile believed to have been launched from Iran after it entered Turkish airspace, Turkey’s Defence Ministry confirmed on Friday, raising fresh concerns about the growing tensions in the Middle East.
In a statement, the ministry said the missile was neutralised by NATO air and missile defence assets deployed in the eastern Mediterranean after it crossed into Turkish territory.
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The latest interception triggered security alerts across parts of southern Turkey.
Air raid sirens reportedly sounded at the strategic Incirlik Air Base, a key NATO military facility that hosts United States troops and other allied personnel.
Residents in the nearby city of Adana were awakened around 3:25 a.m. by the warning alarms. Some locals reportedly captured footage showing what appeared to be a fast-moving object on fire streaking across the sky.
Similar sirens were also heard in the eastern Turkish city of Batman around 4:00 a.m., with reports indicating the alarm may have been linked to a nearby military drone base located close to the city’s airport.
The incident marks the third time NATO defence systems have intercepted missiles linked to Iran in recent weeks. The first missile was shot down on March 4, while a second was intercepted earlier this week.
Following Monday’s incident, the United States temporarily shut down its consulate in Adana and urged American citizens to leave southeastern Turkey due to security concerns.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, however, reportedly denied that the missile had been launched from Iran during a telephone conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The rising tensions come amid the ongoing conflict that erupted on February 28 involving the United States, Israel and Iran. Since the outbreak of hostilities, Tehran has reportedly carried out retaliatory strikes across several locations in the Middle East.
Incirlik Air Base remains one of NATO’s most important strategic military facilities in the region. The base has hosted US troops for decades and also accommodates military personnel from other NATO member states including Spain and Poland.
Another key NATO installation is located in Kurecik, in Turkey’s Malatya province, where US troops operate an early-warning radar system capable of detecting missile launches from Iran. The radar facility forms part of NATO’s broader ballistic missile defence shield.
Although Turkish authorities have consistently denied that radar data from the base has been shared with Israel, its presence has reportedly raised concerns in Tehran.
Earlier this week, Turkey also confirmed the deployment of a Patriot missile defence system in Malatya as NATO strengthens its regional missile defence posture amid the escalating conflict.
Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL), operator of the joint venture between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) and CNL has reiterated commitment to socio-economic development in the Niger Delta.
CNL has demonstrated interest in stakeholder discussions in respect of the proposed Escravos to Warri Road Project and continues to partner with the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and Delta State Government to understand the proposal.
During a visit of CNL and NDDC to the Delta State government on March 12, 2026, in Asaba, Segun Kuteyi, Director & Chief Operating Officer, Chevron Nigeria and Mid-Africa Region, highlighted CNL’s belief that the construction of the road will potentially improve connectivity and foster economic development in the region. He also recognized the critical importance of building the required synergy with the Delta State government through the project lifecycle.
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According to him, CNL believes that a collaborative approach with various stakeholders including government agencies, local communities, and private sector partners will deliver best value and the NDDC, being the initiator of the project, is a critical stakeholder in the project.
He said: “Nigeria’s Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme (RITCS) provides a framework that may incentivize eligible private sector participation,” he stated, adding that CNL will continue to collaborate with the Nigerian government and other stakeholders to support the development of the Nigerian oil and gas industry and the Nigerian economy.”
Allegations that about N210tn is missing from the accounts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has been faulted by a coalition of professionals under the Ajiyya Solidarity Forum (AJF).
Addressing journalists on Thursday, ASF National Coordinator, Usman Hamza, described the claim as “mathematically impossible” and politically motivated.
The group’s position is in response to a recent claim by the Chairman of the Senate Public Accounts Committee, Ahmed Wadada, that the NNPC Limited could not account for about N210tn.
According to Hamza, such a figure was misleading.
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“Senator Wadada’s claim of N210tn ‘unaccounted for’ funds is a mathematical impossibility designed to shock the public,” Hamza said.
He argued that the claim did not align with Nigeria’s fiscal reality, noting that the country’s entire 2024 national budget stood at about N28.7tn.
“To suggest that a single entity ‘lost’ nearly eight times the national budget is an insult to the intelligence of Nigerians,” he added.
The forum also condemned threats of arrest warrants against former officials of NNPC Ltd, including former Chief Financial Officer, Umar Ajiya, describing the move as part of a coordinated campaign of political blackmail.
According to the group, the Senate committee may have misinterpreted financial figures by combining accrued expenses and receivables in a way that falsely suggests missing funds.
“We consider that the committee has erroneously ‘netted’ N103tn in accrued expenses, largely joint venture liabilities, with N107tn in receivables owed to NNPCL. Labelling money owed to a company as ‘missing funds’ is a professional travesty,” Hamza stated.
During the ongoing review of the financial records of NNPC Ltd, the Senate Public Accounts Committee, chaired by Wadada, raised concerns over alleged discrepancies running into trillions of naira.
The ASF maintained that the allegations ignored the broader financial and structural reforms undertaken by the national oil company in recent years.
Furthermore, Hamza mentioned that the tenure of former CFO Ajiya coincided with the transition of the national oil firm into a commercial entity under the Petroleum Industry Act, a reform that ended decades of opaque financial reporting.
“Mr Ajiya’s tenure saw the transition of NNPC into a commercially driven entity and the publication of the first audited financial statements in 43 years,” the forum stated.
ASF defended the N5.9bn cost incurred during the transition process of NNPC to NNPC Limited, saying it covered complex legal and structural reforms required to transform the former state corporation into a limited liability company.
The forum warned that politicising the Senate’s oversight role could damage Nigeria’s credibility in the eyes of international investors.
“Using the Senate’s hallowed chambers to pursue personal vendettas damages Nigeria’s reputation with international investors,” Hamza said.
The forum further called on the leadership of the Senate to institute an independent ethics investigation into what it described as an alleged demand for bribes linked to the ongoing oversight process.
“We call on the Senate leadership and its Ethics Committee to investigate the alleged bribe demand connected to this oversight exercise,” he said.
He urged lawmakers to stop what he described as the harassment of officials who have already submitted several technical responses to the committee.
“Public accountability should be pursued through a sober forensic review of facts, not through sensational claims and phantom numbers,” he added.
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