The Senate Committee on Local Content has reaffirmed the National Assembly’s commitment to working closely with the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board to enhance the localisation of the workforce in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
Vice Chairman of the committee, Senator Ede Dafinone, stated this on Thursday during a two-day oversight visit to the NCDMB headquarters in Yenagoa.
He noted that the committee was impressed with the board’s efforts to boost in-country production of equipment used in the oil and gas industry.
Dafinone expressed the National Assembly’s readiness to collaborate with the board in building a more resilient and Nigerian-driven oil and gas sector, which he said would significantly boost the national economy.
He said, “We have come to the end of one of our oversight visits. This is the first oversight visit of the 10th Senate to the NCDMB, and we have spent some time with the Executive Secretary and his team to understand the work being done here and the impact on Nigerians. I must say, we are impressed.
“The Executive Secretary and his team took us around one of their projects — the industrial park — which is nearing completion and has already started to attract occupants. There are also other industrial parks they have completed. The work of the NCDMB goes beyond what we can physically see on the ground.
“They are also focused on training and capacity-building programmes for Nigerians, which is another vital area. I believe we will see even more from the NCDMB in the future. NCDMB has assessed itself and currently places its Nigerian content achievement at 56% in terms of workforce localisation in the oil and gas sector.
“They have shared with us areas where the Senate can help expand and strengthen their programmes. We are ready to engage further and support the board in building a more robust and Nigerianised oil and gas industry.”
Also speaking, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Content, Senator Joel-Onowakpo Thomas, who led the oversight visit, said the committee’s mandate is to ensure Nigerians benefit maximally from the nation’s oil and gas resources.
He assured that the committee would work to create an enabling environment that encourages business growth, promotes job creation, and develops critical skills and assets — a mission the NCDMB is already actively advancing.
Thomas further stated that the National Assembly remains committed to increasing Nigeria’s participation in the oil and gas industry to generate economic opportunities and improve livelihoods across the country.
He reaffirmed the Senate’s support for the NCDMB’s efforts to develop and implement policies that will drive local content development.
Welcoming the Senate Committee, Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe revealed that 10 firms have applied to occupy the Industrial Park at Emeyal 1 in the Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
Ogbe used the opportunity to advocate for the exclusion of the Nigerian Content Development Fund (NCDF) from revenue deductions, in line with Section 104 of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, which established the fund to support Nigerian content development.
He explained that the board is targeting firms capable of producing essential equipment for the oil and gas sector — such as bolts and nuts — as well as those engaged in fabrication, tailoring, and the production of safety gear, once operations begin at the park.
“Companies are already showing interest in occupying spaces at the park. Facility managers are currently cleaning up the completed areas in preparation for occupancy. We believe that before the end of the year — once power is running and generators are in place — we will be ready to allocate spaces to qualified applicants.
“As of now, we have 10 applications, with six meeting the requirements. We are engaging with those companies and encouraging more credible firms to apply. We are looking for small and medium-scale manufacturers — people producing bolts and nuts, small fabricators, safety gear tailors, and even chemical processing firms. We have space for them to set up their factories and grow their businesses,” he said.