By Obas Esiedesa, Abuja
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has disclosed that 132 Nigerian companies have accessed a total of N51.785 billion and $359.653 million from intervention funds designed to boost indigenous participation in the country’s oil and gas sector.
The funding includes the $350 million Nigerian Content Intervention Fund, the $50 million Working Capital Fund supported by NEXIM, and the Women in Oil and Gas Fund.
According to data from the NCDMB, three manufacturing firms accessed N7.561 billion, while 38 companies received N22.144 billion and $205.666 million for asset acquisition. Additionally, 10 firms secured N2.232 billion and $24.728 million to finance contracts, and 25 companies benefited from N15.98 billion and $115.998 million for loan refinancing.
Speaking at a workshop for media stakeholders in Abuja, Dr. Abdulmalik Halilu, NCDMB Director of Corporate Services, said the funding has increased Nigerian participation in the industry from 44 percent three years ago to 61 percent this year.
He highlighted that the NLNG Train-7 project alone engaged about 8,000 Nigerians, stressing that local content is about domestication based on global best practices, not mere indigenisation or promotion of inferior goods.
“The NCDMB has two major responsibilities under the Act: capacity building and enforcement. You cannot enforce local content without capacity, and the Act includes 17 broad schedules and about 300 specific targets as performance indicators,” he explained.
Dr. Halilu further noted that local content drives industrialisation, job creation, research ecosystem development, ownership of critical assets, sustainable operations, environmental responsibility, and profitable indigenous participation in the oil and gas sector.
Earlier, Dr. Obinna Ezeobi, NCDMB General Manager of Corporate Communications, assured that the Board would continue to support the media through capacity-building engagements to enhance accurate and effective reporting of the industry.
“Today, we continue the tradition of equipping Nigerians, this time journalists, with the capability to engage meaningfully with industry players,” he said.
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