The new Executive Council of the Nigerian Gas Association (NGA) has commended the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Simbi Wabote for the phenomenal strides the Board is making in capacity building, vendor development and enlightenment of stakeholders on the Nigerian Content Act.
President of the Association, Mrs. Audrey Joe-Ezigbo made the remarks when she led the current NGA Council on a courtesy visit to the Board’s Abuja liaison office on Thursday.
She expressed a strong desire for the Board to partner with the NGA to strengthen their advocacy for effective gas utilization and promotion of gas commercialization programme.
She said that the essence of the visit was to intimate the Board about the strategic direction of the current leadership of NGA and their readiness to move away from merely complaining about the challenges of the industry to public policy and legislation with a view to promoting value addition through the gas subsector.
She informed the Board that one of the goals of the Council is to build a resource centre where reliable and vital data on gas issues can be obtained by investors and other stakeholders. She sought for collaboration of the Board towards actualizing the goal.
She also noted that NGA is interested in capacity building and in-country value creation, noting that gas utilization is the fastest path to Nigeria’s development and transformation.
In his response, the Executive Secretary appreciated the Council for the visit and described the NGA as a critical stakeholder in the oil and gas industry that cannot be ignored. He commended the gender mix in the leadership of the association as well as the lofty achievement of having one of its members belonging to the leadership of International Gas Association, Engr. Emeka Ene, being the first Nigerian to attain such height.
Wabote assured the NGA Council of the Board’s willingness to support the association to fulfill their objectives considering the criticality of gas to Nigeria’s economic growth and development.
On the plan to establish a resource centre, he promised to support the association provided they are willing to set up it in the new NCDMB 17 storey headquarters in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, which has available accommodation.
The Executive Secretary emphasized that such centre will be highly valued by the industry because there is currently little or no reliable data on gas in the country. He encouraged the association to remain focused in their advocacy for better policy and legislative framework on gas development and utilization in Nigeria. He assured the NGA that the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCIF) is available to support every credible investment in oil and gas value chain. He further informed the council to write to the Board to be incorporated into the Nigerian Content Consultative Forum (NCCF) as a sub –committee, so that the association can utilize the platform to advise the Board on vital areas of intervention to deepen Nigerian Content performance and in country value creation.
He also charged the council to enlighten their members on how to make the required remittance on the Nigerian Content Development Fund (NCDF).
In his remarks, the immediate past president of NGA Engr. Dada Thomas commended the Board for the great stride it had recorded in the implementation of the Act and challenged the Board to expand the reach of local content to other critical sectors of the economy.
