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.
Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Governor of Oyo State, on Thursday, finally threw his hats into the ring by declaring his intention to run for president in 2027, with a message – history beckons.
The governor, whose ambition has been a matter of speculations for months now and who had teamed up with forces angling to force President Bola Tinubu, out of power, told a teeming crowd in Ibadan on Thursday that time had come to reset Nigeria.
At a mega-rally to announce the alliance between the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and the Allied Peoples’ Movement, (APM), Makinde, expressed worry over the dwindling fortunes of Nigerians, vowing to engage Nigerians to end the drift.
Hear him: “Without a multi-party system, there is no democracy. Where is our multi-party? Where do we go from here? We have been pushed to the wall.
“They calculated and self-opposition cannot unite but I am here to say that the opposition is the everyday Nigerian. This is the time for all us to ensure Nigeria works for us. This is the time to confront it fears. It is time to engage as citizens and not spectators.
“For the opposition political parties, this is the time to unite and work in unity and give our nation the much reset it needs. The time to reset Nigeria is now. Ibadan is the city of warriors. The first grand alliance is formed. The PDP and APM is formed. This handshake will allow us to field candidates from presidency to state Assembly. And so, I declare my candidacy for office of the president of Nigeria.”
Eyo Ekpe, a professor of cardiothoracic surgery at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH), on Wednesday, gave a detailed account on how operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) manhandled him on Monday.
He told reporters that he was at sea on why he should fall victim to the assault against his person and eventually arrested given that was not right person directly involved in the information the agency sought.
Some operatives of the EFCC who invaded the hospital, had whisked Ekpe away after firing teargas to scare away the workers, patients and visitors to the hospital, following what appeared like a fracas the ensued over what it claimed was a routine duty in the facility.
Ekpe, Deputy Chairman of the hospital’s Medical Advisory Committee (MAC), described how an operative had first entered his office to make inquiries on why the hospital was yet to give a response to an EFCC inquiry over a medical report linked to a suspect facing trial.
He detailed how he briefed the operative that the said response was being prepared and even went ahead to show him the draft of a letter in that regard, which needed to go through the gamut of official endorsement before being released.
Hear him: “The head of that internal medicine department looked at the report and also discovered that the name of the doctor that signed the report is not a member of staff of that department.
“I had prepared prepared a response to the EFCC on Monday, May 11, 2026, based on the findings. When the EFCC operative visited my office the next morning to collect the document, I told him that the response was ready in draft. I even showed him the draft, but told him that the document still needed approval from the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the hospital before it could be officially signed and released.
“He pretended to have accepted that. He left, but later later returned with another armed operative and informed me that I was under arrest. I asked him why. I was not the one that issued the medical report. My name is not on the medical report. The report was not issued from my unit.
“But he said I would get the answer when I get to their office. I then asked him to at least wait for my staff member who I sent on an errand before joining them. But they refused.
“They started pushing me. They dragged me out of the office. Then I began to cry while they were dragging me. They had warned me not to speak. They had taken my phone. My cry as they were dragging me, attracted the workers to the scene, who enquired what was going on, but because they ordered me not to speak, I couldn’t say anything. They had their guns.
The members of staff of the hospital initially blocked them from taking me away. They then made a call. After that I saw many masked and armed men came violently, broke the protector, threatening the people that were around and people ran away.
“They picked some staff that were still by me. they dragged me and other staff, five of us into their van downstairs. By that time they discovered that the gate of the hospital were locked. So, they drove towards the gate and packed and the commotion continued. We were inside the van.
“I was so emotionally and psychologically traumatised that I couldn’t even look out of the vehicle to see what was happening outside. But I know that teargas and live bullets were shot. That’s all I can say for now.”
Joyce Abdulmalik, of the Federal High Court, Abuja, heard on Wednesday, how Zenith Bank raised alarm over the huge transaction in one of its branches by Abubakar Malami, former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice (AGF-MoJ).
The bank said it immediately filed a Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) in respect to the transactions, during its appearance in the ongoing trial of Malami, his wife, and son over allegation of massive looting of funds belonging to the Federal Government during his tenure.
Mashelia Bata, a compliance officer with the bank, who appeared as witness in the case, where Malami, et al, are facing a 16-count charge bordering on alleged money laundering to the tune of N8.7 billion, to which they pleaded not guilty, gave the testimony while being questioned on the bank’s roles in the matter.
Details of the testimony conveyed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), stated how the compliance officer who was cross-examined by Adebayo Adedeji, lawyer to the defendants admitted that the deposits in the account statements complied with the guidelines of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Arguments had stretched when Adedeji, opposed Jibrin Okutepa (SAN), lawyer to the EFCC, who had asked the witness to explain the meaning of a suspicious transaction report, stressing that there was no ambiguity in the term.
However, Okutepa, in response, maintained that section 215(3) of the Evidence Act did not preclude him from re-examining the witness while urging the court to allow the question for proper explanation.
After Abdulmalik, agreed and overruled Adedeji, the witness told the court that banks were required to alert the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) about fund deposits coming in a repetitive pattern, adding: “Any deposition of funds seen in a pattern or repetitive, you must escalate it to the NFIU.”
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