NCDMB Reaffirms Mandate, Urges Media to Champion Local Content Growth

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has reiterated its commitment to deepening local content in the oil and gas industry while urging the media to play a greater role in safeguarding the truth and shaping the right agenda for national growth.

Speaking at an engagement with Niger Delta media stakeholders and youth groups in Port Harcourt, on Thursday, August 28, 2025, the General Manager, Corporate Communications, Obinna Ezeobi, underscored the importance of continuous collaboration with the media as strategic partners in advancing the Nigerian Content mandate.

He explained that since its establishment in 2010, the NCDMB has sustained open-door policies, regular trainings, and capacity-building initiatives for journalists, recognizing them as key stakeholders in communicating the Board’s activities and countering misinformation.

“Our mandate, as clearly provided in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act of 2010, is to build capacity, enforce compliance, and ensure Nigerians take up greater roles in the oil and gas sector. We are not an interventionist agency for the Niger Delta, but a pan-Nigerian institution with a national assignment to drive local participation,” he clarified.

Ezeobi, who credited the Executive Secretary, Felix Ogbe, for championing the stakeholder engagement initiative, urged media professionals to embrace their responsibility of “gatekeeping” against false reports that misrepresent the Board’s functions, as well as setting the right agenda on how to grow Nigerian content from its current 56 percent to the projected 70 percent.

He further emphasized that the NCDMB’s 10-year roadmap anchored on five pillars and four enablers places stakeholder engagement and collaboration at its core, making partnerships with media and youth groups indispensable.

“The media has been critical in propagating our milestones and ensuring the public understands our focus. Going forward, we seek stronger collaboration to redirect conversations toward compliance, job creation, economic growth, and the transformation of the energy sector,” Ezeobi added.

He also reminded stakeholders that while the NCDMB continues to support capacity development, training, and partnerships across the country, it cannot take on mandates outside its scope, stressing that there are other federal interventionist agencies established for such roles.

Presenting further details, the Director of Corporate Services, Dr. Abdulmalik Halilu, highlighted key achievements of the Board in implementing the NOGICD Act. He disclosed that the NCDMB has facilitated partial integration of Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) platforms in-country, while significantly boosting local fabrication and manpower services. He also revealed that over 100 indigenous companies with exploration, production, and construction capabilities have grown stronger under the Board’s guidance, with more than 15,000 Nigerians trained in specialized skills such as welding, marine operations, and design engineering.

In his remarks, the Acting Director of Monitoring and Evaluation outlined the Board’s continuous efforts to track compliance and strengthen accountability across the oil and gas sector. He noted that Nigerian content has risen steadily to 56 percent, driven by strict enforcement of local participation in engineering, procurement, and construction. He stressed that with stronger partnerships from the media, youth groups, and industry players, thethe NCDMB is on course to achieve its target of 70 percent Nigerian content by 2027, further deepening economic growth and job creation.