The Senate's local content committee has praised the Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) for its continuous efforts to deepen local participation in the Nigeria oil and gas industry.
The vice president of the Committee, Senator Ede Dafinone, which represents the Central Senatorial District of Delta, made the recommendation after a two -day supervision visit to the NCDMB headquarters in Yenagoa, state of Bayelsa.
During the visit, the members of the Committee took a tour of the emblematic project of the Board of the Petroleum and Gas Parks scheme almost completed in Emeyal 1 in the area of ​​the local government of Ogbia.
Dafinone expressed his satisfaction with the progress of the Board and said that the Committee was impressed not only by physical infrastructure but also by the wide range of capacity construction programs implemented by you for the benefit of Nigerians.
“This is the first supervision visit of the tenth Senate to the NCDMB. We had time with the executive secretary and his team to understand what they do and the results we are seeing for the Nigerians.
“I have to say that we are impressed. The industrial park is almost finished and is already busy.
“But beyond physical structures, the work of the NCDMB extends to the training and development programs of human capacities that are crucial for the sector and for our national development.”
He also noted that the Board presented a self -assessment report indicating that 56 percent of the workforce in the oil and gas sector is now composed of Nigerians, a significant milestone in the development of local content.
In his comments, the is from the NCDMB, Felix Omatsola-Gbe, shared ideas about progress in the Nogaps project.
He revealed that facilities managers were already preparing completed sections of the Industrial Park for occupation, and the energy supply is expected to be operational soon, since the generators were on their way.
“Of the ten applicants so far, six have met the requirements. We are encouraging the most credible companies, especially small and medium enterprises, to request.
“We are looking to attract factories involved in the manufacture of light, such as bolts and nuts, safety wear, small manufactures and even chemical mix.
“The park is designed to accommodate such companies,” he said.
According to Omatsola-Ogube, the Board is launching a social initiative entitled “Back To Creek”, with the aim of improving access to education in unattended coastal communities.
“Many children in the streams cannot take JAMBES because they lack basic tools such as laptops,” he said.
“We take care of reaching schools in these areas and providing them with the facilities they need to give their students the same opportunities in education.”
He said that the objective was to support primary students at the university level, joining the educational gap between rural and urban areas.
The Senate Committee concluded the visit by reaffirming its support to the initiatives of NCDMB and its commitment to monitor and advance the local content in the oil and gas industry.