NCDMB says indigenous participation in sector has risen to 61% as intervention funds boost jobs, assets, and manufacturing
No fewer than 132 Nigerian companies have accessed a combined ₦51.785 billion and $359.653 million from various local content intervention funds established to deepen indigenous participation in the nation’s oil and gas industry, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has revealed.
The funding, targeted at strengthening the operational and financial capacity of Nigerian firms, was drawn from multiple financing windows, including the $350 million Nigerian Content Intervention Fund, the $50 million Working Capital Fund supported by NEXIM Bank, and the Women in Oil and Gas Fund.
According to fresh data released by the Board on Monday, three manufacturing companies received ₦7.561 billion, while 38 firms accessed ₦22.144 billion and $205.666 million to acquire assets. In addition, 10 companies obtained ₦2.232 billion and $24.728 million to execute contracts, and 25 firms benefited from ₦15.98 billion and $115.998 million for loan refinancing.
Speaking at a media stakeholders’ workshop in Abuja, the NCDMB Director of Corporate Services, Abdulmalik Halilu, said the intervention programmes have significantly expanded local participation in the oil and gas sector.
He disclosed that local content performance has grown from 44 per cent three years ago to 61 per cent in 2025, attributing the improvement to sustained capacity-building initiatives and stricter enforcement of the Nigerian Content Act.
Highlighting the impact of major projects, Halilu said the NLNG Train-7 project alone engaged about 8,000 Nigerians, demonstrating the practical benefits of local content policies beyond policy declarations.
“Local content is about domestication built on global best practices. It is not about promoting inferior goods or simple indigenisation,” he said.
Halilu explained that the NCDMB operates under two principal mandates provided by the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act — capacity development and enforcement.
“You cannot enforce local content without first building capacity,” he noted, adding that the Act contains 17 broad schedules and about 300 specific performance indicators to guide compliance.
According to him, effective local content implementation supports industrialisation, job creation, research and development, ownership of critical assets, environmental responsibility, and sustainable indigenous participation across the oil and gas value chain.
He traced Nigeria’s local content journey to 2001 under the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, when studies showed that the oil and gas industry focused largely on revenue generation with minimal in-country value addition. This led to the creation of a Nigerian Content Division within the NNPC to promote domestic capacity and employment.
The policy framework was later strengthened with the enactment of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act in 2010 under former President Goodluck Jonathan, ensuring that local production without compromising international standards became a permanent feature of the industry.
Halilu further explained that every NCDMB intervention follows a defined framework with clear ownership, timelines, and performance scorecards.
“What does not get measured does not get done,” he said.
Using NLNG Train-7 as a benchmark project, he revealed that the project employed 8,000 Nigerians alongside about 500 expatriates and engaged 1,400 vendors. He added that critical components such as pressure vessels, certified pumps, cables, and industrial safety boots were fabricated locally, with the acquired capacity now serving other sectors, including power and construction.
He noted that legacy investments, such as the FPSO integration yard in Ladol, have helped unlock large-scale indigenous investment and reduced Nigeria’s reliance on foreign facilities.
Beyond Nigeria, Halilu said the Board is championing local content development across Africa, stressing that Nigeria alone may not offer a sufficiently large market to attract some high-end investments.
“Africa holds about 125 billion barrels of crude oil and over 800 trillion cubic feet of gas. That is why we are working through the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation to advance local content across the continent,” he said.
He disclosed that initiatives such as the Africa Energy Bank and the Brazzaville Accord on Local Content are outcomes of Nigeria’s leadership in promoting indigenous capacity development.
Meanwhile, the NCDMB General Manager of Corporate Communications, Obinna Ezeobi, assured journalists of the Board’s continued support through training and capacity-building programmes to improve industry reporting.
“We are sustaining the tradition of equipping Nigerians, and today, journalists with the knowledge required to engage meaningfully with the oil and gas industry,” he said.
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