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| Engr. Simbi Wabote |
…Ali Elias, Lagos
You can live by the letter of the law (Act), or by the spirit
of the law (Act), that established your agency or organization. The later is
the more desired.
At Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB)
the pursuit of the spirit of NOGICD Act
(2010) which established the Board appears to be the case, rather than the
letter of the Act; accounting for the monumental successes and impact they have
made not only in the Nigerian Oil and Gas industries, its linkage sectors, and
the Nigerian economy as a whole but to the emerging and established Oil
producing Countries in Africa and their local content management.
What has been responsible for this?
In a few words, it is this: Right from inception in 2010 the
Board has been blessed with core, dedicated and visionary professionals to
midwife the Board’s mandate. Their doggedness, pragmatism, and industry
expertise has elevated the Board to an enviable position where its discharge of
the Local Content philosophy is worthy of modeling. And in truth, it is being
modeled and understudied by other African countries.
Such is always the case when competent, selfless core
professionals mount the saddle of an organization whether in the private or
public sector. They propel even a hitherto small or underfunded establishment
to a monumental height; impacting staff, stakeholders, and the entire society
with their keenly focused vision.
In this post, we bring you the profile of the current
Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote. He is the third
Executive Secretary of the Board, after the pioneer Executive Secretary, Engr.
Ernest Ndukwe, and Mr. Denzil Amagbe Kentebe.
Engr. Kesiye Wabote.
Engr. Kesiye Wabote was appointed
as the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board
(NCDMB) by President Muhammadu Buhari (GCFR) on the 29th of
September 2016. Prior to his appointment he was an Executive Director of Shell
Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) Nigeria Limited and General Manager
Business and Government Relations for Shell Companies In Nigeria (SCIN).
He joined Shell in 1991 as an Oil
and Gas Engineer after a short stint with the Banking Industry in Nigeria. He
served Shell in various senior positions within Nigeria and in several
countries in Africa, Europe, North America, Middle East, Asia and new frontier
countries in engineering Local Content Development, Contracting and
Procurement, Government Relations, and Community Affairs.
In a little over three years as the
Executive Secretary, Engr. Wabote has reinvigorated the operations of NCDMB and
developed the Nigerian Content 10-year Roadmap to grow Nigerian Content to 70%
by 2027. He spearheaded the rapid development of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Park
in Odukpani, Cross River State and Emeyal-1, Bayelsa State and the launch of
the $200m (USD) Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCI Fund) to provide low
cost and accessible credit to service companies.
He brought his project management
skills into the construction of the Board’s new headquarters building complex,
leading to the completion of the 17-storey office building, with 1000 seater
auditorium, and multilevel car park.
He also pioneered the development
and deployment Service Level Agreement (SLA) between the Board and the Nigerian
LNG Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS) and Indigenous Petroleum Producers Group
(IPPG), which has reduced the tendering cycle time to six months and fast track
development of new projects.
Under his watch, NCDMB catalyzed
the successful integration of one of the largest Floating Production Storage
and Offloading (FPSO) in-country at the SHI-MCI yard in the LADOL Free Trade Zone,
and facilitated in-country integration of six modules on the Engina FPSO, the
first time in the entire Gulf of Guinea.
Engr. Wabote also introduced key
signature into the Oil and Gas industry calendar such as the bi-annual Nigerian
Oil and Gas opportunity Fair (NOGOF) and the Nigerian Research and Development
Fair (R&D Fair) to showcase Oil and Gas opportunities for investment and
galvanize research capabilities respectively. He has also used the annual
Practical Nigerian Content conference and exhibition to set agenda for the
industry.
He also championed NCDMB’s equity
investment in Waltersmith’s modular refinery and Azikel modular refinery and
other strategic capacity development initiatives in the hydrocarbon value-chain
in line with the Board’s vision to serve as a catalyst for the
industrialization of the Nigerian Oil and Gas sector.
Engr. Wabote holds MSc from Leeds
Metropolitan University (United Kingdom) and is a graduate of Civil Engineering
from River State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt as well as
a graduate of INSEAD Group Leadership Program. He has very sound technical and
business competencies with proficient skills in Engineering, Project
Management, Local Content Strategic Development, Human Capacity Building,
Government Relations, and Stakeholders management.
He is also a Fellow of the Nigerian
Society of Engineers and a COREN Registered engineer and a member of Institute
of Civil Engineers London.
Some of the recent awards he has
won for his outstanding performance include, African Local Content Icon Award
by the 2021, Transformational Business Leader in Public Sector in 2019, and Most
Impactful Chief Executive in the Niger Delta
Born 2nd February, 1966,
Engr. Wabote is a Nigerian from Bayelsa State and is married to Sotonye with
three lovely daughters”.
Clickhealth
Published
by Rareview Communications