Business
Nigerian Content retains $8bn annually, creates 50,000 jobs
By Lucky MOMOH
The implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act has created over 50,000 direct jobs in the local economy over the past 11 years, the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote has said.
He stated this in Lagos during separate breakfast meetings he held with members of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers on Thursday and editors of newspapers and broadcast stations on Friday respectively.
He hinted that the level of Nigerian content in the oil industry hovered around five percent before the enactment of the NOGICD Act in 2010, however, the focused implementation of the Nigerian Content Law resulted in an increase to 26 percent in 2016 and 42 percent as at December 2021.
Wabote explained that NCDMB had launched the Nigerian content 10-Year Strategic Roadmap in 2017, with a target to achieve 70 percent Nigerian content by 2027. As part of this goal, the Board would catalyze the creation of 300, 000 direct jobs in the oil and gas industry and linkage sectors, enable the retention of $13bn out of the estimated annual $20bn spend in the oil and gas industry and establishment of major fabrication yards and manufacturing hubs in-country.
He hinted that a pointer of the marked improvement in Nigerian content implementation is that the local economy used to retain little or nothing from the annual oil industry spend of $20 billion before the NOGICD Act, 2010 but is now able to retain more than $8 billion in-country per year. The improvement is because of the development of critical capacities and assets by local oil and gas service companies and increased domiciliation and domestication of industry operations, he said.
According to the NCDMB boss, Nigeria has also moved from near zero participation in the operations side of the oil and gas sector “to the point that our indigenous operators such as SEPLAT, AITEO, EROTON, and others are now responsible for 15 percent of our oil production and 60 percent of our domestic gas supply.”
Other major accomplishments of Nigerian content implementation include the establishment of two world-class pipe mills and five impressive pipe coating yards, the ability of Nigerian firms to fabricate more than 250,000 tonnes of steel per year and ownership of more than 40 percent of marine vessels used in the oil and gas industry by Nigerians.
The Executive Secretary further stated that over 10 million training manhours have been delivered via the Board’s Human Capacity Development Programs, adding that “ it was no surprise that our indigenous workforce was able to sustain oil production at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.”’
Providing details of the Board’s provision of credit facilities to the oil and gas industry, Wabote said NCDMB had inaugurated a $50million Nigerian Content Research & Development Fund to drive basic research, commercialization of research breakthroughs, establishment of research centers of excellence, and to sponsor university endowments. He added that “the Board floated a $50m special loan product for women in the oil and gas business to enable empowerment of the womenfolk in the industry and established another $30m Working Capital Fund to support oil and gas service companies. Both the Women and Working Capital funds are managed by Nexim (Nigerian Export-Import) Bank.”
He announced that NCDMB recently secured the approval of its Governing Council to set up a $50 million fund for NOGAPS Manufacturing Product Line, to be dedicated to companies that would operate in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Parks, being constructed by the Board in Bayelsa and Cross River States. Beneficiaries of the NOGAPS fund would have to be engaged in the manufacturing of equipment components used in the oil and gas industry and linkage sectors.
Giving reasons why the NCDMB convened the breakfast meetings with the leadership of the media, the Executive Secretary stated that the agency wanted senior members of the media to understand the importance of Nigerian Content to the national economy and to continue to advocate for the implementation in all spheres of the Nigerian economy. He added that the COVID-19 pandemic made humanity to realize that every economy needs to develop local capacities and capabilities in the core sectors, hence, all hands must now be on deck to push the local content narrative.
He charged media practitioners to uphold the ethics of their professionalism, noting that Nigerians depend on the media for their news and information, hence practitioners must strive to retain their audience’s trust and not fall for the temptation of propagating fake news and carrying out unwarranted attacks on innocent Nigerians.
He regretted that some online media platforms were undermining the Federal Government’s noble intentions of bringing in technocrats and professionals to serve as appointees through targeted and unwarranted attacks under the cloak of investigative journalism and challenged the publishers and editors to condemn and weed out the bad eggs in their profession, and our society generally.
In his remarks, Manager Corporate Communications NCDMB, Mr. Esueme Dan Kikile noted that media practitioners are key partners in the implementation of the NOGICD Act and their role was clearly spelled out in section 70 (n) of the Nigerian Content legislation.
He also solicited the support of senior media practitioners to curb the incidence of fake news and libelous publications perpetrated by some news organizations.
He also assure
The NNPC Foundation Limited/Gte, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), has won the CSR Champion Award (Health) 2025 instituted by the Independent Newspapers.
Biztellers reports that the award was presented during the Silver Jubilee edition of the Independent Newspapers Awards, themed “Game Changers: Breaking Barriers and Shaping Tomorrow,” held at Eko Hotel and Suites on Saturday, 18 April 2026.
The CSR Champion Award (Health) recognises the Foundation’s work in healthcare and its broader commitment to improving lives through social investment programmes spanning health, education, environment, and access to energy.Primary & Secondary Schooling (K-12)
The recognition follows a series of health initiatives delivered by the Foundation, including free cataract screening and surgeries that restored sight to over 6,000 Nigerians, including minors born blind; cancer and glaucoma interventions; medical outreaches to underserved communities; renovation and furnishing of three wards with 100 beds at the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi; partnership and sponsorship of heart surgeries; and provision of dental health accessories to children in special schools, among others.
The NNPC Foundation noted that these results were made possible through the leadership and support of the NNPC Ltd. Management team, whose commitment has continued to strengthen the Foundation’s capacity to deliver social investments across the country.
Reacting to the award, the Managing Director of NNPC Foundation, Emmanuella Arukwe, described the recognition as a validation of the Foundation’s work and the trust placed in it by Nigerians. She noted that the award means so much to the company because it represents the confidence Nigerians have placed in its work and the value they see in purposeful social investment.
“It speaks to the resilience of the communities we serve, the dedication of our team, and the strength of partnerships that have enabled us to do meaningful work in health, education, environmental sustainability and access to energy,” she added.
In addition, Arukwe noted that “these results have also been made possible through the leadership and support of the NNPC Ltd. Management team, whose backing has been instrumental to the success of the Foundation’s work. We receive this award with gratitude, and with a renewed sense of responsibility to do more and reach further across the country.”
The NNPC Foundation Limited/Gte remains committed to advancing health interventions that improve outcomes and contribute to national development.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), through its Research, Technology and Innovation (RTI) Division, in collaboration with the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sonatrach, the Algerian National Oil Company, for cooperation in research, development, and innovation.
The agreement, signed by NNPC Ltd’s Executive Vice President, Business Services, Sophia Mbakwe, and Sonatrach’s Managing Director, Khodjah Mohamed, establishes a formal framework for joint work in research and technology exchange between the two national oil companies.
This was contained in the press statement issued on Thursday by Chief Corporate Communications Officer Mr. Andy Odeh.
According to the statement, the agreement, held during the opening ceremony of the 3rd Meeting of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organization (APPO) Forum for R&D Directors at the PTDF Tower in Abuja, Nigeria, brought together research and development directors from APPO member countries.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, represented by former Secretary General of APPO, Omar Farouk Ibrahim, said the forum was one of four measures introduced by APPO to address challenges from the global energy transition, which center on funding, technology, and markets.
“The R&D forum tackles technology and expertise needs, the African Energy Bank addresses funding constraints, and the Central African Pipeline System supports regional oil and gas market integration,” Lokpobiri stated.
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Earlier in his remarks, Group Chief Executive Officer, NNPC Limited, Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari, represented by the Company’s Chief Financial Officer, Adedapo Segun, said research and development must form a central part of the overall strategy in the African oil and gas industry.
He called for research and development centres to function as engines of industrial competitiveness. “Collaboration in research and development is of strategic importance. The cost of innovation might be high, but the cost of obsolescence would be greater,” he stressed.
Ojulari called for a unified strategic framework through which resources could be pooled, data integrated, and risks shared across member countries.
He further urged the rapid adoption of digital technologies, artificial intelligence, and advanced engineering to improve upstream, midstream, and downstream operations.
On his part, the APPO Secretary General, Farid Ghezali, urged African petroleum-producing countries to ensure research in the oil and gas sector produced solutions that are practical and directly relevant to the continent. “We must ensure that our research delivers solutions that are practical and of direct use to Africa,” he stated.
Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), Prof. Shu’aibu Shehu Aliyu, highlighted the value of the partnership between NNPC Limited and PTDF in supporting decarbonization and environmental protection efforts across APPO member countries.
Chief Innovation Officer of NNPC Research, Technology and Innovation and incoming Chairman of the APPO R&D Directors Forum, Rasheed Ojulari, said the forum would give immediate priority to joint programs in the core areas of upstream optimization, artificial intelligence, decarbonisation processes, and industrial systems development.
The Nigerian Gas Association (NGA), has opined that a predictable fiscal and regulatory environment are ingredients essential to de-risking investments and accelerating project delivery in the oil and gas sector.
This was detailed in a statement released by NGA at the end of its maiden Legal Forum emphasised that investor confidence will be shaped by the robustness of commercial and contractual structures across the gas value chain, strengthened contractual clarity, and efficient dispute resolution mechanisms.
In his opening address, President of the NGA, Aka Nwokedi, underscored the urgency of aligning Nigeria’s legal architecture with its strategic gas ambitions, noting that the sector’s next phase of growth will be defined by the strength, clarity, and credibility of its regulatory environment.
“Nigeria’s gas resources present a defining opportunity for economic transformation, but realising this potential will depend on building a legal framework that is transparent, predictable, and globally competitive”, he stated.
Discussions throughout the Forum reflected a clear and consistent theme: that Nigeria’s opportunity now lies in execution.
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While the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) has established a transformative foundation for sector reform, participants emphasised that its true impact will be determined by disciplined implementation, regulatory coherence, and institutional alignment.
The need to eliminate ambiguity and strengthen enforcement emerged as central to unlocking sustained investment.
As global energy systems continue to evolve, the Forum reinforced natural gas as Nigeria’s most strategic lever for balancing economic growth, energy security, and emissions reduction. Participants highlighted that legal and regulatory frameworks must evolve accordingly, moving beyond policy intent to embed clear, enforceable standards on carbon management, ESG obligations, and sustainability.
“In an increasingly competitive global market, such clarity will be critical in attracting long-term capital.”
The Forum also acknowledged the policy direction of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in advancing gas development through infrastructure expansion and increased domestic utilisation.
Stakeholders noted that sustained policy stability will serve as a critical signal to both domestic and international investors evaluating long-term opportunities in Nigeria’s gas sector.
Beyond its technical depth, the NGA Legal Forum marked an important step in bridging the longstanding gap between legal frameworks and industry realities, creating a structured platform for continuous engagement, practical alignment, and forward-looking policy development.
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