The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and Dangote Group have called on Nigeria’s oil and gas industry to move beyond regulatory compliance and embrace sustainable local content development driven by technology transfer, accessible financing and stronger domestic supply chains.
The call came at a strategic retreat of the NCDMB/Dangote Joint Technical Committee (JTC) in Lagos on Friday, themed “Beyond Compliance: Partnering for Sustainable Nigerian Content Development.”
Industry stakeholders and government representatives at the meeting stressed the need to make Nigerian content a central pillar of national industrial policy, capable of creating jobs, strengthening indigenous businesses, developing technical expertise and retaining more economic value within the country.
NCDMB Executive Secretary, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, represented by the Senior Technical Adviser and Director of Project Certification and Authorisation, Engr. Austin Uzoka, identified commitment, technology and financing as the three fundamental requirements for building a resilient Nigerian content ecosystem.
Ogbe challenged industry players to focus on the long-term sustainability of Nigeria’s industrial investments, particularly the development of domestic supply chains and the technical capabilities required to operate and maintain major industrial facilities.
Using Nigeria’s publicly owned refineries as a point of reference, he stressed the importance of ensuring that the Dangote Refinery and other strategic industrial assets are supported by capable Nigerian suppliers, contractors and service providers.
He argued that constructing world-class facilities would not, on its own, guarantee sustainable industrial development unless Nigeria also developed the indigenous capacity to maintain their operations, supply essential materials and deliver specialised services.
Without reliable domestic supply chains, he warned, a substantial share of the economic benefits from major industrial investments could continue to flow abroad, limiting local value addition and the growth of Nigerian enterprises.
Financing, technology critical to indigenous capacity
Ogbe identified high interest rates and delays in accessing financing as major obstacles confronting indigenous oil and gas companies, noting that funding constraints could prevent local businesses from executing projects, expanding operations and competing effectively with international service providers.
He called for greater investment in Nigerian technical expertise to reduce long-term dependence on foreign capabilities and ensure that the knowledge required to operate and maintain complex industrial assets remains within the country.
The NCDMB executive secretary also urged stakeholders to support the emergence of more large-scale indigenous industrialists, including investors seeking to establish refineries and related facilities.
While acknowledging Dangote Group’s contribution to Nigeria’s industrial development, he said the country needed an enabling environment for other Nigerian investors to build and operate major industrial assets.
A stronger domestic refining industry, he added, would reinforce Nigeria’s ambition to become a regional oil and gas hub while expanding employment opportunities, investment and local value creation.
NCDMB reaffirmed its commitment to creating an environment in which Nigerian companies can build technical competence, participate meaningfully in industry projects and compete for opportunities across the oil and gas value chain.
Nigerian content retains over $10bn, creates 50,000 jobs
In his presentation, the Director of Planning, Research and Statistics at NCDMB and Chairman of the NCDMB/Dangote Joint Technical Committee, Mr. Omomehin Ajimijaye, urged contractors, vendors and service providers within the Dangote business ecosystem to comply with Nigerian content requirements and register on the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Joint Qualification System (NOGICJQS).
Ajimijaye said the Board’s regulatory framework was designed to deepen indigenous participation and facilitate business growth rather than impose unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles.
He identified four core compliance requirements: Nigerian content planning, workforce localisation, local procurement and capacity development.
Companies bidding for projects, he explained, are expected to submit Nigerian content plans demonstrating how they intend to maximise local participation, employ qualified Nigerians, procure goods and services available locally, and invest in skills development and technology transfer.
On expatriate employment, Ajimijaye said companies could recruit foreign personnel where genuine skills gaps existed. However, they were expected to work with the Board to establish those gaps and develop succession plans to prepare Nigerians to assume the positions over time.
He described NOGICJQS as a digital platform for supplier registration, prequalification, capacity verification and validation of technical expertise.
Reliable industry data, he added, would help NCDMB identify skills shortages, connect businesses with qualified professionals and direct training investments towards areas of greatest need.
Ajimijaye commended Dangote Group for collaborating with the Board since around 2019 to develop Nigerian capacity through training programmes at local and overseas institutions. Some beneficiaries, he said, had subsequently secured employment within the group’s businesses.
He also called for sustained investment in research and development to stimulate indigenous innovation, improve industrial competitiveness and enable Nigerian companies to export technical expertise.
Providing an assessment of the programme’s impact, Ajimijaye disclosed that Nigerian content interventions had retained more than $10 billion in the domestic economy, generated over 50,000 direct and indirect jobs, and supported more than 50 million man-hours of training.
However, he said in-country value retention remained at approximately 61 per cent, below the 70 per cent target.
The gap, he noted, underscored the need for stronger collaboration among regulators, operators, contractors and service providers to increase the share of industry spending retained within Nigeria.
He urged companies to view Nigerian content not merely as a statutory obligation but as a commercial opportunity to expand their businesses, develop technical expertise and build a more competitive domestic energy industry.
Dangote urges industry to embrace local content as national responsibility
Dangote Group Vice President, Dr. Edwin Devakumar, called for a fundamental shift from a compliance-driven approach to a culture of national responsibility, ownership and commitment.
He argued that laws and regulations alone could not deliver sustainable Nigerian content unless businesses, individuals and institutions genuinely embraced the responsibility of developing the country’s productive capacity.
“For sustainable Nigerian content development to succeed, it must not be seen as a regulatory burden. Every individual must regard it as something they genuinely want to do from the bottom of their heart,” he said.
Devakumar stressed that local content should extend beyond sourcing raw materials to include skills transfer, workforce development and the growth of indigenous contractors into enterprises capable of executing increasingly complex industrial projects.
His position reinforced the need for local content policies to translate into stronger domestic industrial capabilities rather than remain limited to procurement rules and administrative compliance.
NCDMB seeks coordinated regulation in oil and gas free zones
The retreat also addressed regulatory coordination and the application of Nigerian content requirements within oil and gas free zones.
NCDMB Director of Legal Services, Dr. Naboth Onyesoh, called for closer cooperation among government institutions responsible for investment promotion, petroleum regulation and Nigerian content enforcement.
He said agencies should clarify their statutory responsibilities, eliminate unnecessary duplication and resolve operational challenges through practical collaboration.
Onyesoh challenged the perception that the Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority (OGFZA) was the sole regulator within designated free zones, explaining that its investment-promotion mandate did not override the statutory responsibilities of other government institutions.
He noted that free-zone incentives intended to attract investment and improve the ease of doing business did not automatically exempt operators from applicable federal laws.
Depending on the nature of their operations, petroleum businesses remain subject to relevant requirements of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority and NCDMB.
He also highlighted the roles of the Central Bank of Nigeria, customs and immigration authorities in facilitating financial transactions, monitoring goods and ensuring compliance with applicable regulations.
Reaffirming the importance of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, 2010, Onyesoh said the legislation remained central to promoting indigenous participation, technology transfer, employment and domestic value retention.
He cautioned against narrow interpretations of the law that could exclude companies operating in free zones from contributing to local capacity development and the growth of Nigerian businesses.
“An incentive regime is a business advantage; it is not a regulatory exception,” he said.
Maritime investment to strengthen indigenous industrial capacity
Onyesoh also highlighted initiatives to expand indigenous maritime capacity through the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund, which supports local companies seeking to acquire vessels and grow their operations.
He disclosed that the Nigerian Content Fund was partnering with Nigeria LNG Limited on a shipyard project at Snake Island to strengthen domestic industrial capacity.
He also commended the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) for collaborating with NCDMB on vessel verification and indigenous participation in maritime operations.
Onyesoh urged OGFZA and other government agencies to intensify engagement, improve information sharing and jointly address operational bottlenecks.
He said coordinated regulation would improve the business environment, strengthen investor confidence, create jobs and ensure Nigeria captures greater economic returns from its oil and gas resources.
Earlier, the Alternate Chairperson of the NCDMB/Dangote Joint Technical Committee, Dr. Ebele Oputa, described the retreat as a platform for stakeholders to align their efforts around a common goal: placing Nigerians at the centre of industrial development.
She acknowledged the contributions of participating government agencies and commended Devakumar for his longstanding commitment to Nigeria and investment in young Nigerians. She noted that his more than 33 years in the country and contributions to Nigerian content development had helped strengthen the collaboration.
The discussions highlighted a central challenge for Nigeria’s energy industry: converting local content regulations and major industrial investments into a sustainable ecosystem of skilled workers, competitive domestic suppliers, technology developers and financially viable indigenous companies.
For Nigeria to close the gap between its 61 per cent in-country value retention and the 70 per cent target, stakeholders will need to strengthen local manufacturing, improve access to capital, deepen technology transfer and ensure that indigenous businesses can compete for increasingly complex projects.
The success of Nigerian content will ultimately depend not only on compliance with statutory requirements but also on the industry’s ability to build enduring domestic capabilities, retain more value locally and position Nigerian companies to compete in regional and international markets.