News
‘Nigeria first’ policy sacrosanct, right way to go – NCDMB boss
Felix Omatsola Ogbe, Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer (ES-CEO) of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), emphasised this for the umpteenth time on Monday, saying no part of its key provisions, as directed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would be left unimplemented.
Ogbe, who spoke at the opening ceremony of the ongoing NOG Energy Week in Abuja, said the policy introduced by the current administration, aimed at boosting local production and patronage of locally made goods and services, reducing dependence on imported items, remained critical for the Nigeria of the future.
Describing the policy as a strong reinforcement of the Board’s core mandate of promoting Nigerian Content in the oil and gas industry, he said: “For Nigeria, energy sufficiency goes beyond availability, it is about building resilience, ensuring sustainability, and protecting our sovereignty. That is why we say local content is not just a policy, it is a strategic imperative.”
Speaking on theme: ‘Achieving Energy Sufficiency through Local Content implementation,’ the NCDMB boss observed that achieving energy sufficiency would require deepening Nigeria’s local capabilities across the oil and gas value chain from exploration and production to processing, manufacturing, and services.
He stressed that prioritising local capacity would not only retain economic value within Nigeria but also mitigate supply disruptions, create jobs, and foster technological growth, adding, the policy was the latest in a series of government interventions designed to strengthen domestic content.
Acknowledging the landmark initiatives such as the NOGICD Act 2010, Executive Orders 001 and 005, and the Presidential Directives on Local Content issued in 2023, which were aligned with President Tinubu’s 8-Point Agenda, he reemphasied the idea of Nigeria First, as rooted in a clear principle.
“All goods or services that are produced and/or available locally will not be procured from foreign sources unless there is a clear and justifiable reason. This aligns with Section 3(1) of the NOGICD Act, which mandates first consideration for Nigerian made goods and services provided they meet industry standards.”
On the part of NCDMB, he pointed out how to translate the policy into action, the Board announced a series of implementation steps which included the development of a dedicated “Nigeria First Procurement Policy” for the Board, integration of the policy into internal systems, and its application in the review of Nigerian Content Plans (NCPs), Compliance Certifications, and Authorisation Certificates.
In furtherance of this, he said the NCDMB would commission two major baseline studies to verify the capacities of Nigerian service providers and to identify locally manufactured consumables used in the oil and gas sector.
“The Nigeria First policy is a bold commitment to national pride, industrial competence, and long-term economic sustainability. At the NCDMB, we are prepared to lead the charge in making this vision a reality,” he said, adding that the body also unveiled a restructured approach to its N50bn Community Contractors Financing Scheme — a key component of the Nigerian Content Intervention (NCI) Fund.
Originally launched in 2018 to support indigenous contractors from oil-producing host communities, the Community Contractors Fund had recorded little traction until recent efforts under the current Executive Secretary, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe set the scheme on a path to revival.
Moderating a session on Deepening Community Participation Through Accessible Financing, NCDMB’s General Manager, Corporate Communications, Dr. Obinna Ezeobi, noted that while other products under the NCI Fund have performed remarkably well, the Community Contractors Fund had lagged behind. He attributed the renewed focus on the scheme to the Executive Secretary’s personal commitment to grassroots empowerment.
Fatima Mohammed, General Manager, Nigerian Content Development Fund, who informed that new features had been introduced to the fund to allow for increased borrowing limits — up to ₦100 million for community contractors in the oil and gas industry, with single digit interest rate per annum.
Explaining that beneficiaries must be verified community contractors with valid projects for international or indigenous oil and gas companies, she informed of how the Board also introduced simplified collateral terms, and plans to carry out extensive sensitisation programmes, with disbursements expected in the coming months.
She added: “We want to see host communities actively participate in the oil and gas ecosystem. After a comprehensive review, we discovered that the centralised structure of the scheme was limiting its effectiveness. We’ve now decentralised it through the involvement of Performing Financial Institutions (PFIs),” she said.
Gabriel Yemidale, Bank of Industry’s Head of Oil and Gas, while speaking on the panel, acknowledged past challenges in implementing the scheme but expressed optimism about the renewed collaboration between BOI, NCDMB, and selected PFIs such as FCMB.
“We didn’t abandon the scheme. What was missing was alignment. With FCMB now on board and funds already allocated, we expect much better reach at the grassroots. BOI will also ensure monthly loan performance reports and quarterly visits to beneficiaries to monitor impact,” Yemidale said.
Oluremi Agboola, Head of Small and Medium Enterprises (SME – Assets), First City Monument Bank (FCMB), who described the bank as a “go-to partner” for SME financing while informing that eligibility was limited to firms with ₦500,000 annual turnover, to ensure participation and impact on small contractors, affirmed its readiness to drive the fund’s success, saying: “We would likely revisit our interest rates to make the product more affordable — thanks to the ES’s impact-driven push. We are also offering financial literacy, monitoring and evaluation training, and business support through the FCMB Business Zone.”
Olumide Odewole, Director of Corporate Strategy and Planning, Trexim Holdings, who also spoke on the panel, emphasised the importance of sustainability and long-term results, saying: “We must build a framework that guarantees impact — through quality delivery, governance structures, and training. That’s how we build a resilient supply chain in the sector.”
The revamped scheme marks a renewed commitment by NCDMB to close funding gaps in the sector and ensure that oil-producing communities are not just stakeholders in name, but active participants in Nigeria’s energy economy.
Seriake Dickson, National Leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), on Wednesday showcased Peter Obi, its presidential candidate in the 2027 election, but gave a proviso – his importance would not be at the expense of the party.
A guest on Prime Time, a public affairs programme on ARISE NEWS Television, the former Governor of Bayelsa State, now Senator representing West at the National Assembly, maintained that the belief in some quarters that Obi’s entrance into the party was a favour was completely misplaced.
Instead, he argued that the opposite was the case, as it was the party that was doing its candidates a favour by giving them the opportunity to contest elective positions on its platform in the 2027 elections, a gesture that ought to be returned.
Hear him: “Don’t make it look like anyone is doing NDC a favour. No one is. Rather, the NDC and I and my colleagues are doing people a favour by granting our platform. If you are genuinely supporting Peter Obi and you are disparaging me, the leader, or the platform itself. That is nonsensical.”
Stressing that NDC had demonstrated confidence in Obi by adopting Obi as its sole presidential candidate and selecting a vice-presidential candidate without internal disputes, he said it was enough to earn its leadership the gratitude it deserved.
He added: “Nobody paid shishi. So, if a presidential candidate didn’t pay shishi to be made the sole presidential candidate and sole vice-presidential candidate, that same party cannot be the one saying that small people are underprivileged.
“I could have run. There’s no one more qualified than me. There’s no one more qualified than me to run for presidential candidate. None. There is no crisis within the NDC. Peter Obi is a cherished member of our party. On our own, we have made him a presidential candidate. Sole presidential candidate. And that counts for something. We are working well together. There’s no crisis.”
Invoking its zero tolerance on issues of security breaches, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), has clamped down on aircraft and crew of the privately operated jet that landed on a roadway in the Ogwashi-Uku area near Asaba, Delta state.
Even with regulatory body for airline operations in Nigeria informed that no casualties were recorded in the incident, it still went for its sanctions in line with its sworn position of maintaining maximum safety at every point.
In a statement on Wednesday, Michael Achimugu, its spokesman said preliminary reports indicated that the aircraft conducted a missed approach while attempting to land at Asaba airport at about 7:43am.
Achimugu: Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, said: “Reports received from personnel at the scene indicate that all occupants safely exited the aircraft and were transported to Asaba by road,” Achimugu said. The aircraft had four (4) crew members on board. At this time, no injuries to passengers or crew have been reported.
“Preliminary information available to the authority indicated that the aircraft later departed the location and returned to Lagos without obtaining the required regulatory approval. Air traffic control was informed only after the aircraft had become airborne.”
Stressing that the action constitutes a violation of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig.CARs) and is currently under investigation by the authority, he said the NCAA immediately grounded the aircraft upon its arrival in Lagos pending the outcome of investigations.
He added: “The flight crew have been placed under regulatory review while the NCAA conducts further inquiries into the circumstances surrounding the occurrence and the subsequent unauthorised departure of the aircraft.
“The NCAA has formally notified the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) of the occurrence and is coordinating with relevant aviation stakeholders, including the operator and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency to establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident.”
Stating that the NCAA immediately suspended the operator’s permit for non-commercial flight (PNCF), he added that the authority would review all operational, airworthiness, maintenance and flight-related records as part of its statutory responsibilities and take further enforcement action in accordance with applicable aviation regulations.
Achimugu said the NCAA remains committed to maintaining the highest standards of aviation safety, security, and regulatory compliance within the Nigerian aviation sector.
Atiku Abubakar, candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), on Wednesday, swore to the integrity of the process that led to his picking the party’s ticket, saying it remained untainted and consistent with the wills of the members.
Against the backdrop of the insistence of Babachir Lawal, former Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), that he stole the ticket by corrupting the process, Atiku, Vice President between 1999 and 2007, pooh-poohed the claim.
Before the former SGF Rotimi Amaechi, former Governor of Rivers State and Minister of Transportation as well as Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, former Chairman of Nigeria Economic Summit Group, both candidates in the contest for the ADC ticket, had rejected the process as flawed, even before the outcome.
Lawal, who had earlier announced his resignation from the ADC a fortnight ago and made sundry allegations of gaming the system against Atiku, had doubled down on Monday, while appearing on Politics Today, a public affairs programme on Channels Television, claiming he personally monitored the exercise and had evidence that the primary was rigged.
Hear him: “Don’t forget I was the National Vice Chairman (North-East). I was in the field during the exercise, so I have evidence. Atiku’s people are the ones trying to deny what they did. We are all human beings. We know what they did. I knew the primary was rigged at the point it was being done and the results declared.”
Regardless that neither Amaechi nor Hayatu-Deen had recanted their original position Atiku, insisted that nothing was amiss, adding that his opponents actually won in the areas of their individual popularity and stronghold.
Conveying his position through Phrank Shaibu, his spokesman, who appeared as a guest on Politics Today, a public affairs programme on Channels Television, the former VP said: “Anybody who claims rigging or irregularity in the last election should check the places and locations they won. Where are the states that Rotimi Amaechi won? If you check the figures and the margins he got there, you will know that those are his strongholds. It was not a fraudulent process.
Maintaining that the burden of proving any fraud rested on the former SGF Shaibu, Shaibu depicted his boss as the most popular among the contestants, arguing that the outcome of the event should not be surprising to anybody.
He said of the ex-SGF: “Babachir reminds me of a baby who is yanked off her mother’s breast while suckling. It is like a deprived suckling; definitely the baby will throw tantrums. He admitted on your show that his preferred candidate was Hayatu-Deen. He worked for him.”
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