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Ogbe orders process reforms as NCDMB launches digital compliance portal to eliminate delays in Nigerian Content Fund certification.
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Over $400m deployed to more than 130 indigenous companies, with Nigerian content participation now above 60 per cent.
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Board shifts focus from enforcement to enablement, seeking greater efficiency, transparency and ease of doing business in the oil and gas sector.
August 12, (THEWILL) — The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has commenced a major push to eliminate bureaucratic bottlenecks in the oil and gas industry, with Executive Secretary, Engr. Felix Ogbe, directing stronger stakeholder engagement and process reforms to improve access to opportunities created by the Nigerian Content Development Fund.
Ogbe made the position known on Wednesday in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, during the NCDMB stakeholders’ engagement, where the Board unveiled the Nigerian Content Fund Compliance Certificate (NCFCC) Portal as part of measures to make compliance faster, more transparent and responsive to industry needs.
The Executive Secretary, who was represented by the Manager, Nigerian Content Development Fund (NCDF), Mr Emmanuel Yusuf, said the engagement was designed to provide stakeholders with practical information on the Board’s operations while creating an avenue for them to raise concerns, seek clarification and better understand opportunities available under the Nigerian content framework.
He said the Board was particularly focused on systems and processes that would improve efficiency, transparency and ease of doing business, stressing that stakeholders must be equipped with the knowledge required to take advantage of the opportunities in the sector.
Ogbe urged participants to use the engagement to ask questions, share experiences and obtain practical knowledge that could be applied within their organisations.
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According to him, the Nigerian Content Development Fund remains a critical instrument for strengthening indigenous participation in the oil and gas industry, particularly by addressing the challenge of access to finance.
He disclosed that more than $400 million had been deployed to over 130 indigenous companies, while Nigerian content participation had risen to above 60 per cent.
Ogbe also highlighted initiatives such as Project 100 and the $100 million equity investment scheme, describing them as part of the Board’s efforts to build competitive indigenous companies and sustain local participation across the oil and gas value chain.
However, he acknowledged the need for the Board’s processes to evolve alongside the progress being recorded in Nigerian content development.
This informed the unveiling of the NCFCC Portal, which is expected to replace a largely manual certification process that required physical documentation and verification and could take weeks to complete.
The new system will enable companies to apply online, track their applications and receive updates electronically, reducing the need for repeated physical visits and paperwork.
Representing the Board at the unveiling, Mrs Bosede Ayodele said the portal was developed in line with the Executive Secretary’s emphasis on process efficiency and improved service delivery.
She said the platform would reduce certificate processing time from weeks to days, provide instant application status updates, enable real-time verification and establish a central digital record that can be relied upon by regulators, investors and vendors.
Ayodele said faster certification would help compliant companies unlock financing opportunities without unnecessary delays and channel such funds into projects capable of creating jobs, expanding technical capacity and strengthening the Nigerian oil and gas value chain.
“For operators and contractors, it means faster access to funding. For regulators, stronger oversight and improved data collection. For investors, it is a source of increased confidence,” she said.
She described the portal as more than a technological innovation, saying it reflected the Board’s commitment to innovation, accountability and continuous improvement.
Ayodele said the initiative also demonstrated a shift in regulatory thinking from enforcement alone to enablement, where businesses are assisted to comply more easily and participate effectively in the industry.
The Board also sensitised participants on the upgraded Nigerian Content Development Fund payment system, including procedures for remitting the mandatory one per cent levy and accessing opportunities created through the Fund.
Under the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, one per cent is deducted from relevant contracts awarded to operators, contractors, subcontractors, alliance partners and other entities involved in upstream oil and gas projects and transactions for payment into the Nigerian Content Development Fund.
Ogbe called on operators, contractors, indigenous companies and other industry stakeholders to embrace the new digital system and actively participate in its implementation.
He stressed that the success of the initiative would depend on collective adoption and sustained engagement by industry players.
The Uyo engagement brought together stakeholders from Akwa Ibom, Cross River and neighbouring states, as well as representatives of government agencies, industry organisations and the media.
Ogbe said sustained stakeholder engagement remained vital to improving the implementation of Nigerian content, building indigenous capacity and ensuring that a greater proportion of the value generated by Nigeria’s oil and gas industry was retained within the country.
