Mr Simbi Wabote, the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), says the board’s 10-year plan to achieve 70 per cent Nigerian content in the oil and gas sector remains realisable.
Wabote, represented by Dr Gina Gina, General Manager, Corporate Communications at NCDMB, spoke at a workshop for media stakeholders in South-South region on Friday in Port Harcourt.
According to him, the board plans to retain the services of Nigerians in providing goods and services by growing capacity and competencies, where 20 billion dollars is spent annually.
He said that the Federal Government was using the local content policy target to ensure that citizens derived more value from the sector.
The executive secretary further said that the board had grown Nigerian content from about five per cent before establishment of NCDMB in 2010 to 30 per cent in 2019.
He said that on assumption of duty in 2017, the board under his watch set the 70 per cent target for a 10-year period.
“The aim is to drive a process of ensuring that at least 14 billion dollars of the 20 billion dollars spent annually in the sector is retained in the country,’’ Wabote said.
He said that NCDMB’s efforts in growing the capacity of indigenes in the oil and gas sector reduced the number of expatriates by at least 1,000, which also reduced capital flight.
He further said that the agency had achieved financial autonomy by ensuring that indigenous companies were given priority in contracts by International Oil Companies through its monitoring mechanism.
Also, Prof. Godwin Okon, of the Department of Mass Communication, River State University, spoke on “Evolving trends in media reportage and improving writing competence of Energy Correspondents.’’
Okon said that society relied on the mass media to understand the complexities of the oil sector.
He said that the communication skills of the reporter should be deployed to interpret and make oil and gas sector meaningful to the average Nigerian.
He said that the role of the media in highlighting opportunities in the sector could fast track the attainment of the 70 per cent Nigerian Content target by 2027.
Earlier in his opening remarks, Mr Naboth Onyesoh, Manager, Corporate Communications, said that the Nigerian Content policy had become imperative because of its cost advantage as opposed to relying on foreign interests.
Onyesoh said that although the sector was dependent on advanced technology, the NCDMB had provided a platform for Nigerians to participate in projects that were hitherto undertaken by foreign concerns.
He solicited the involvement of the media in showcasing the opportunities created by NCDMB for indigenes in the oil and gas sector.
