The pioneer Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Dr Ernest Nwapa, has dismissed claims that the nation’s local content policies are stifling major oil and gas investments, insisting that several other government policies have a more direct impact on final investment decisions (FIDs) in the sector.
This was contained in a statement signed by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President (Information and Strategy), on Monday.
According to the statement, Dr Nwapa made the clarification during the maiden session of the Nigerian Content Academy Lecture Series, held on Friday under the auspices of the NCDMB.
The lecture, which opened with the theme “Staying the Nigerian Content Course in the Midst of Delivery Challenges,” offered a panoramic review of Nigeria’s local content implementation strategy and urged stakeholders not to undermine the policy.
The statement reads partly: “There are many government policies that are affecting FIDs.
“There are unintended ambiguities in the Presidential Directives introduced in February 2024. Such ambiguities need to be addressed by stakeholders. The ambiguities have created systemic problems, and there has to be institutional adjustment to re-enact the authority in the NCDMB directives.
“When the Board writes a letter and says this is what stands on Nigerian Content, nobody questions it. If you challenge a letter from the NCDMB, it wouldn’t stand.
“Our young engineers, our young technicians now have places to go to acquire practical skills because a lot of projects are going on in the country. If you look at the number of Nigerians that worked in Egina at the Integration Yard [SHI-MCI Fabrication and Integration Yard, Tarkwa Bay, Lagos], it’s not something you can just underestimate. There are serious consequences for failure of what we’ve started.”
Dr Nwapa, who once served as Group General Manager, Nigerian Content Division of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) between 2005 and 2010, observed that some actors in the oil and gas industry have continued to propagate false narratives against the local content drive. He stressed that such fears are unfounded and largely promoted by those opposed to national economic participation.
He warned against what he described as “lack of respect for the authority of the NCDMB” within some industry quarters, arguing that no agency should disregard directives issued by the Board or operate contrary to established content regulations.
The pioneer Executive Secretary explained that the Nigerian Content policy has always been a central component of Nigeria’s economic development model.
He referenced historical statutes such as the Petroleum Act of 1969, the Joint Venture (JV) Agreements, the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), and the establishment of NAPIMS and the Coastal and Inland Shipping (Cabotage) Act of 2003, noting that none matched the transformative impact of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, 2010.
According to him, the NOGICD Act created an unprecedented platform for Nigerian engineers, technicians and project managers to acquire real industry experience, contributing significantly to national value retention.
Dr Nwapa, who is also a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (FNSE), emphasised the need for the NCDMB to continue addressing project cost disparities, describing cost management as a key determinant of competitiveness in the global oil market.
He said the Board possesses the technical authority to collaborate with operators in assessing costs and aligning them with local realities.
He stated that “things around high costs of local content are things we have to continue to work on to see how we can have them reduced,” adding that the cost of projects should be reviewed “on a project-by-project basis and handled strategically by the Board.”
The statement further highlighted that Dr Nwapa advised the Nigerian Content Academy—a division of the NCDMB—to strengthen its role as a national hub for applied research, policy testing, and training.
He urged the Academy to create more practical sessions and analytical workshops that can feed actionable recommendations to the Executive Secretary of NCDMB and, where necessary, “right up to The Presidency.”
During the interactive session moderated by Dr Ama Ikuru, Director of the Academy, industry professionals raised pressing operational questions.
Mr Simeon Ogari, the Nigerian Content Manager of SEPLAT Energy Limited, queried why both the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content (NOGIC) Joint Qualification System (JQS) and a parallel JQS operated by NIPEX (Nigerian Petroleum Exchange) are allowed to exist simultaneously.
Responding, Dr Nwapa said the arrangement had existed for some time and had not disrupted operations. He assured that discrepancies between the two systems would be harmonised as the industry evolved.
Other participants, including Mr Isoboye Amachree of Oando PLC, Mr Kamselem Mohammed, and Barrister Naboth Onyesoh, Director of Legal Services at the NCDMB, also sought clarifications on regulatory processes, local participation, and compliance mechanisms within the oil and gas industry.