Winners of the 10th Edition of the NCDMB Annual National Undergraduate Essay Competition 2026 were on Thursday unveiled at a colourful ceremony at the NCDMB Conference Centre, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, with the Management of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) underscoring the strategic importance of youth development and local manufacturing in promoting sustainable local content and building a resilient economy.
The coveted prize of N1 million, a brand-new laptop and a plaque was won by Mr. Wisdom David Fabunmi, a 200-level Physiotherapy student of the University of Ilorin, Kwara State, who emerged as overall winner, while the second prize of N700,000, laptop and plaque was won by Ms. Joy Oghogho Enogieru, a 100-level Doctor of Optometry student of the University of Benin, the first runner-up. The third prize of N500,000, laptop and a plaque was won by Mr. Ahmadu Kodan Yusuf, a 100-level Law student of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
There were some 5,000 entries in the Essay Competition from 52 universities across the six geopolitical zones of the country, with consolation prizes going to the 4th to 9th place winners.
The competition, which the Board notes has become an important platform for promoting research, analytical thinking, effective communication and intellectual engagement among undergraduates, had this year’s focus on, “Promoting Manufacturing for Sustainable Local Content Development.”
Representing the Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, at the Grand Finale of the Award and Prize-giving Ceremony, the General Manager, Corporate Communications Division (CCD), Dr. Obinna Ezeobi, stated that the competition is particularly important to the Board because it contributes to the realisation of its mandate, which centres on development of human and material capacity and monitoring of compliance by players in the oil and gas industry.
He explained that the Board discharges its capacity building mandate through various programmes such as Direct Intervention trainings for graduates and artisans in technical and non-technical skills as well as project-based human capital development, which entails on-the-job trainings on live projects as required by the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, 2010.
Dr. Ezeobi pointed out that universities are institutions where ideas should be developed, problems examined, innovations encouraged and solutions created for the advancement of the society, hence the Board undertook to engage students and encourage them to think critically and write about Nigerian Content. The ideas, commitment and ingenuity of youths, he noted, were crucial to the future of Nigerian Content.
He said the Annual Undergraduate Essay Competition is connected to several other interventions the Board has for youths in higher institutions, such as the Research Centres of Excellence in Federal University of Technology, Owerri; Federal University of Technology, Minna; Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island, Bayelsa State; University of Port Harcourt, Choba; University of Ibadan, Ibadan, and Modibbo Adama University of Technology, Yola.
He also listed the Nigerian Engineering Olympiad (NEO), to inspire innovation among engineering students, with the maiden edition concluded in July 2026.
Other initiatives of the Board targeted at youths include specialised training programmes like Nigerian Oil and Gas Readiness Training, where 10,000 young Nigerians are being trained in the 10 top skills needed in the emerging new projects being developed by the industry, and the Catch-the-Researcher-Young Programme (CRYP), a digital research capacity development initiative designed to equip undergraduate students with modern technology skills, advanced research methods, and industry-relevant digital competencies.
Dr. Ezeobi noted that the focus of this year’s essay competition on promoting manufacturing for sustainable local content development is intended to challenge participants to examine how Nigeria can strengthen its productive capacity and create greater economic value.
Manufacturing, he emphasised, is “the bedrock of sustainable local content development,” and that the NCDMB established the Nigerian Oil and Gas Parks Scheme (NOGaPS) “to incubate the manufacturing of components used by the oil and gas industry.”
According to him, “It is also the reason we implement a policy known as Nigerian Content Equipment Commitment (NCEC), which compels companies to show proof that they manufacture components and have capacity to execute key activities” before they get contract opportunities in the oil and gas industry.
Earlier in a welcome address, the programme consultant, Mr. Eyinimi Omorozi, Chief Executive Officer of Mahogany 21st Century Concepts Limited, said the Award and Prize-giving Ceremony was a celebration of “a decade of investment in ideas by the NCDMB.” He expressed satisfaction with the output of the participants in the competition, stating, “From the essays of these young men and women, you can just tell that the future is very bright.”
In regard to the sponsors, he declared, “NCDMB is not just building facilities and monitoring compliance, it is also building minds.”
In his opening remarks, the Chairman of the occasion, Professor Promise Mebine, Vice Chancellor, Federal University, Otuoke, congratulated the NCDMB on its successful hosting and sponsorship of the competition and for staying faithful to the vision.
“Year after year, you have proven that building Nigerian Content is not only about pipelines and platforms, but about building people, particularly our youths, the leaders of tomorrow,” he stated.
To the winners, his word was, “Your prize today is well-deserved, but the real prize is not the cheque or the plaque. The real prize is that NCDMB has now opened a door for you. Walk through it!” To the other contestants, he said, “you are not losers; every essay you submitted is a seed. You have trained your mind to think. You have trained your hand to write. Keep writing; keep researching; keep believing in Nigeria; Next year, the podium may be yours.”
In a goodwill message, the Director, Monitoring and Evaluation Directorate (MED) Mr. Esueme Dan Kikile, Esq. commended the Executive Secretary, the Corporate Communications Division and the programme consultant for all the effort toward sustenance of the competition, which he noted has been immensely beneficial to the Board and participants.
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