The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) recently held the maiden edition of the Nigerian Content Consultative Forum (NCCF) retreat in Lagos, with a charge to the sectorial groups to provide credible feedback on the implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act.
The retreat with the theme ‘Consolidating the Gains of the Oil and Gas Industry; Putting Nigeria First Through the NCCF’ was aimed at bringing industry stakeholders together to give feedback on the journey so far and to collaborate on policy proposals that may be relevant to the Board.
Delivering the welcome address, Chairman NCCF NCDMB, Mr. Patrick Daziba Obah explained that the retreat was an offshoot of the NCCF Steering Committee Meeting held in March and an indication that the Board takes the NCCF recommendations very seriously.
He informed that NCCF was established by the NOGICD Act 2010 as a medium for the Board’s stakeholders across diverse sectors to share ideas and collaborate and submit policy proposals that are relevant to Nigerian Content Development.
Obah, who is also the Director, Planning, Research and Statistics in the NCDMB indicated that the retreat was organized to reflect on the achievements of the NCCF from its inception in 2014 till date and added that the achievements would not have been possible without the inputs and collaborations of the Sectorial Working Group (SWG) members.
He emphasized that one of the purposes of the retreat was to set the agenda of the next phase of the NCCF in line with the Board’s Nigerian Content 10-Year Road Map, covering short, medium and long term activities that would significantly improve value retention within the Nigerian Oil & Gas industry, create jobs and build capacity and this is in line with the Board’s vision statement, “To be the catalyst for the industrialization of the Nigerian oil and gas industry and its linkage sectors”.
He encouraged the SWGs to come up with viable projects that would make big impacts on Nigerian Content development and expressed hope that NCCF “would continue to advise the Board on policy adjustments and interventions for Nigerian Content implementation and continue to deepen consultation with established sectors of the oil and gas industry”.
In his keynote address, the Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote stated that the NCCF was set up in accordance with section 57 and 58 of the Nigerian Content Act and the Forum is made up of key industry stakeholders, government and regulatory agencies and representatives from eight sectors notably Fabrication, Engineering, Finance, Legal Services and Insurance, Shipping & Logistics, Materials and Manufacturing, Information and Communication Technology, PETAN and Education and Training.
He added that the Board approved the creation of the Essential Services and Multinationals groups to bring the total number of sectorial working groups to 10. ”This was also in line with the provision of the same section 58 of the Act which allows for addition of any other professional services,” he said.
He noted that NCCF has made some progress over the years but there were several areas where improvements were needed. He emphasized that the primary objective of the retreat was for the Board to take feedback. In his words, “We want to get feedback on how we have fared in achieving the objectives of the NCCF as contained in the NOGICD Act, which are to share information of upcoming projects and local capabilities as well as collaborate on policy proposals that may be relevant to Nigerian Content development”
“We should then use this retreat to deliberate on how to re-energise the NCCF at the Steering Committee level and at the Sectorial Working Group level to deliver the purpose of setting it up the NCCF”.
