Former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR, on Wednesday at a well-attended Gala Night at the Nigerian Content Tower (NCT), Swali, Yenagoa, received the Nigerian Content Lifetime Achievement Award of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).
The landmark event, tagged “Inaugural Award Ceremony of Champions of Nigerian Content,” was put together by the Board, in partnership with Sweetcrude Limited, “to recognise and reward individuals and corporate bodies that set the highest standards in deepening local participation in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.”
Other winners in the Distinguished Individuals category were Engr. Tony Attah, Managing Director of Renaissance Africa Energy Limited, as “Nigerian Content Icon of the Year;” Professor Emenike Chinedozi Ejiogu, of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, (UNN), as “Nigerian Content Innovator of the Year,” and Ms. Iroghama Ogbeifun, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Starzs Investments Company Limited.
In the corporate category, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), now known as Renaissance Africa Energy Limited, clinched the “Nigerian Content International Upstream Operator of the Year Award,” while Aradel won the “Nigerian Content Independent Upstream Operator of the Year Award.”
Other winners in the corporate category were Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited as “Nigerian Content Midstream Operator of the Year”; Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Company Limited as “Nigerian Content Downstream Operator of the Year”; Dorman Long Engineering Company Limited as “Nigerian Content Indigenous Service Company of the Year,” and Technip FMC as “Nigerian Content International Service Company of the Year.”
On the winners list also were Bank of Industry (BOI) as “Nigerian Content Financial Services Provider of the Year” and Thisday Newspapers as “Nigerian Content Media Organisation of the Year.”
In a citation the former President Jonathan, who signed the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD)) Act, 2010, was described as “a distinguished founding father and a leader of Nigerian Content Development – impactful leader, a nation builder who was once at the highest level of governance in this land and immensely contributed to the advancement of Nigerian Content.”
Engr. Attah, who was until recently the Managing Director of the NLNG and credited with the initiation of the NLNG Train-7 Project, was honoured for being “the visionary industry leader whose work was adjudged to have profoundly impacted the sector.”
Prof Ejiogu, who had successfully carried out groundbreaking research in over 20 years of career life in Japan, holds over six international patents/inventions in engineering. These include a patent for a fuel cell system, while his inventions include systems for conversion of solid waste and electronic waste to energy resources.
Ms. Ogbeifun, honoured with the “Women in Leadership Award for Promoting Women Empowerment,” is credited with remarkable performance in gender inclusion, particularly in the marine sector where women hold various positions as seafarers, engineers and vessel captains in the fleet of vessels operated by Starzs Marine and Engineering Limited, one of the subsidiaries under her management.
In his acceptance speech, Dr. Jonathan recalled how he promptly signed the Nigerian Content Bill in 2010 when he was acting President, stating that an encounter with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who repeatedly mentioned Nigeria as a reference point for underperformance in utilisation of oil resources, and the example of China that easily domesticated and domiciled oil and gas industry activities, greatly motivated him.
He said Senator Lee Maeba, who represented Rivers State South East Senatorial District in the National Assembly, was among the initiators of the Nigerian Content Bill and deserves special recognition by the NCDMB and Nigerians generally.
The former President thanked the NCDMB for the honour done him through the Award, and was particularly appreciative of the success story of Nigerian Content and the Management of the Board that translated the dream behind the Act into reality.
Earlier in a Welcome Address, the Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, noted that the NCDMB had come a long way in implementation of the NOGICD Act and that landmark achievements have been recorded for which outstanding industry players, individuals and corporate entities, deserved to be identified and honoured.
According to him, “The time has come to identify and celebrate pillars of Nigerian Content who shall serve as a shining example of what is expected of others in the industry.”
On the selection criteria employed, a member of the Award Advisory Committee, Mr. Wole Akinyosoye, one-time Operations Controller with the defunct Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), said measurable metrics were used. According to him, “Awardees must have demonstrated operational consistency where applicable; must have contributed to enhanced utilization and monetization of gas resources as applicable, and must have improved on local refining where applicable in terms of capacity and energy security.”
Continuing, he said, they “must also have strictly complied with the Act and other statutory Nigerian Content requirements, and must have made significant footprint in job creation and local sourcing.”
On the composition of the Advisory Committee for the Award, he pointed out that the pioneer Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Engr. Ernest Nwakpa, was the Chairman, while the Secretary-General of the African Petroleum Producers Association (APPO), Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim, and he (Wole Akinyosoye), were members.
In his own remarks, Dr. Emeka Vitalis Obi, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, who represented the Ministers of State for Petroleum Resources, Oil and Gas, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri and Hon Ekperikpe Ekpo, respectively, described Dr. Jonathan as “a symbol of continuity,” who would always be remembered for his legacies, particularly the NOGICD Act.
He said the Award was for “vision translated into impact,” and noted that much has been achieved under the Ministry of Petroleum Resources in recent times, including “harmonised inter-agency collaboration.
The “Champions of Nigerian Content Awards” is an integral part of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Opportunity Fair (NOGOF) 2025, which began on May 20, 2025 and draws to a close on Thursday.
