The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB, has urged businesses in Anambra State to explore opportunities in Nigeria’s oil and gas supply chain.
NCDMB said indigenous participation in the sector could expand the state’s industrial base and create new avenues for economic growth.
General Manager, Corporate Communications of NCDMB, Dr Obinna Ezeobi, made call at a Nigerian Content Capacity Building Workshop for media stakeholders in Awka, Anambra State.
Ezeobi said the oil and gas industry offered opportunities beyond crude oil exploration and production, including manufacturing, equipment maintenance, transportation, logistics, construction, information technology and other support services that could accommodate Nigerian entrepreneurs and small and medium-scale enterprises.
He said Anambra’s strong commercial and industrial base positioned the state to benefit from the implementation of Nigeria’s local content policy, urging journalists to help businesses and professionals understand how to participate in the petroleum industry.
He called on media practitioners to move beyond conventional reporting by highlighting opportunities created through the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development, NOGICD, Act, 2010, and explaining how indigenous companies could access them.
According to him, effective media engagement was essential to ensuring that Nigerian businesses, skilled professionals, young people and host communities understood the benefits of local content policies and were equipped to take advantage of them.
He said sustained awareness would also promote transparency, encourage indigenous participation and strengthen public understanding of the Board’s interventions.
The workshop brought together journalists, editors and other media stakeholders to examine NCDMB’s mandate, achievements and the role of Nigerian Content in driving economic development.
A major highlight was a panel discussion on the theme, “Nigerian Content as a Catalyst for Sustainable Community Development.”
The discussion featured the Director, Planning, Research and Statistics, Mr Omomehin Ajimijaye; General Manager, Zonal Coordination, Mr Ifeanyi Ukoha; General Manager, Corporate Communications, Dr Obinna Ezeobi; and Manager, Monitoring and Evaluation, Engr Emmanuel Umeanya.
The panel examined how local content implementation could strengthen indigenous enterprises, develop technical capacity, expand employment and ensure that the economic benefits of petroleum operations extended beyond crude oil production and revenue generation.
The engagement also highlighted the importance of research, monitoring, institutional coordination and public communication in achieving the objectives of Nigeria’s local content framework.
Established under the NOGICD Act of 2010, the NCDMB is responsible for promoting and monitoring Nigerian participation in the oil and gas industry.
