FORGING PARTNERSHIP THAT WORKS- THE NCDMB EXAMPLE

 

Executive Secretary NCDMB Engr. Simbi Wabote

Reported by Ali Elias

“It is not much about what you do in the office, it is much about how you feel people and how much you  are committed to this industry” stated Engr, Simbi Kesiye Wabote, Executive Secretary, NCDMB (Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board) while delivering the Welcome Keynote Address at the ongoing 2022 Practical Nigerian Content (PNC) forum, in the Oil and Gas sector, with the theme,  Deepening Nigerian Content Opportunities in the Decade of Gas,   holding at Ibom Hotel and Golf Resort, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, South South Nigeria, from 5-8 December, 2022

Deputy Governor, Akwa Ibom State, His Excellency Moses Ekpo

“When we got into partnership with Waltersmith”, he cited, “to do the refinery (modular) in Ibigwe, when we had our first meeting and looked around the room, all the members of directors of Waltersmith are institutional persons. We then agreed to say, ‘gentlemen, we are not going to take any sitting allowance as directors. We are all going to make commit to making this refinery work.  When it starts working and it starts making money, then we think about allowance for directors’. That to me is smacked the beginning of corporate governance in establishment.

“A process where people just sit as directors the first day, and they have not made any progress, and the next day they are sending their bank account on how to transfer directors’ allowance. But when he then sent dividend coming, we then have to remind him, ‘Chairman, we didn’t take anything, are you going to consider us as directors? Today, that is a clear success story (Waltersmith) that is working.”

Stressing further the issue of genuine partnership, he related what transpired between him and the IPPG (Independent Petroleum Producers Group) the upstream equivalent of IPMAN (Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria)

“I must say that the IPPG took up the challenge that I put before them in NCDMB. I said to them, ‘if you look around in terms of the upstream sector, who has benefited immensely from the local content Act? And of course, is the IPPG group. Then I told them that you need to demonstrate that to the Nigerian community that the policies and the law have rubbed off on you’. So this year, they called me and said this year we are going to be the Lead sponsors of the Practical Nigerian Content”

Continuing along the same line he gave a feedback into the Board’s enviable milestone and chain of successes including key projects in focus which fall under their 10 year strategic roadmap.

“it was in this same hall 5 years ago, 2017, that we launched our 10 year strategic roadmap, aimed at increasing Nigerian content in oil and gas to 70% by 2027. We are back here to provide feedback on the journey so far in our quest to deepen Nigerian content in the oil and gas industry. Since 2018 our objective has always been to give status report on the various initiatives to industry stakeholders using the annual Practical Nigeria Content Forum as the key platform.

“We are proud of the achievement realized in the past 5 years despite the general and specific challenges placed across the oil and gas industry locally and globally. Since the launch of the roadmap 5 years ago we have seen dramatic changes in the price of crude oil and natural gas, the global pandemic, major oil and gas discoveries, Russian-Ukraine war, the return to coal even in the face of increased clamour for energy transition, runaway inflation and many other developments.

“In the opinion of the Board, these events have largely reaffirmed the need for local content practice in every notion using its comparative advantage and resources to the fullest. It also confirms the fact that the energy transition debate will be relegated to the background once the energy security of any of the developed countries is under threat.

“It is gratifying that the push for Nigerian content as envisaged in our strategic roadmap has continued to yield result in the last 5 years. Out of the 96 strategic initiatives, under the strategic roadmap, we have completed 77 initiatives, largely under the short and medium term categories by November 2022.

“It is my pleasure to announce that the 2022 content level in the oil and gas industry is now 54%, based on our evaluation of the industry activities”

Many other speakers paid glowing commendation to the Board for its drive.

A common theme that kept resurfacing with different speakers is that fact that there is need to move from focusing on effort to outcome. “There is a difference between effort and outcome. This is something we need to step up to see the outcome. To achieve this we need to step up our collaborations”

NCDMB demonstrated this, both in terms of focusing on outcome and collaboration, throughout their presentation with detailed measurable and identifiable milestones and projects in focus.

The conference was declared open by the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, His Excellency Udom Emmanuel, represented by his deputy, His Excellency, Moses Ekpo.

The conference continues tomorrow.