By Georgina George
LAGOS-The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and the Dangote Group have called on industry players to move from mere regulatory compliance to a stronger commitment anchored on technological innovation and sustainable financing.
The call was made on Friday in Lagos at a retreat of the NCDMB/Dangote Joint Technical Committee, themed “Beyond Compliance: Partnering for Sustainable Nigerian Content Development,” which drew stakeholders from the oil and gas sector and relevant government agencies.
Representing the NCDMB Executive Secretary, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, the Director of Project Certification and Authorisation, Engr. Austin Uzoka, named commitment, technology and financing as the pillars of a resilient Nigerian content ecosystem. He stressed the need to build local supply chains to sustain the Dangote Refinery and warned that, without them, the benefits of such investments would continue to flow abroad.
The Director of Planning, Research and Statistics and JTC Chairman, Mr. Omomehin Ajimijaye, urged contractors and vendors in the Dangote ecosystem to comply with Nigerian content requirements and register on the Board’s digital platform, NOGICJQS. He listed four compliance pillars: Nigerian content planning, workforce localisation, local procurement and capacity development.
Ajimijaye disclosed that Nigerian content interventions had retained over $10 billion in the economy, created more than 50,000 direct and indirect jobs and supported over 50 million man-hours of training. However, he said in-country value retention stood at about 61 per cent, below the 70 per cent target.
In his welcome address, the Group Vice President of Dangote Group, Dr. Edwin Devakumar, called for a shift from a compliance-driven approach to a culture of national responsibility. “For sustainable Nigerian content development to succeed, it must not be seen as a regulatory burden,” he said.
The NCDMB’s Director of Legal Services, Dr. Naboth Onyesoh, called for stronger coordination among regulators, noting that free-zone incentives do not exempt operators from federal laws or the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, 2010. “An incentive regime is a business advantage; it is not a regulatory exception,” he said.
Onyesoh also disclosed that the Nigerian Content Fund was partnering with Nigeria LNG Limited on a shipyard project at Snake Island to boost domestic maritime capacity.
The JTC Alternate Chairperson, Dr. Ebele Oputa, described the retreat as a family meeting of stakeholders united by the goal of placing Nigerians at the centre of industrial development.
