Stakeholders call for technology transfer, affordable financing, stronger local supply chains and coordinated regulation to deepen indigenous participation and retain more value in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and Dangote Group have called for a fundamental shift from regulatory compliance to a culture of national commitment, technological innovation and sustainable financing to accelerate indigenous participation and industrial development in Nigeria.

They argued that Nigerian content must evolve beyond meeting statutory requirements to become a long-term economic strategy that builds domestic industrial capacity, creates jobs, strengthens local supply chains and ensures that a greater proportion of the value generated by the oil and gas industry remains within the country.

The position was articulated at a strategic retreat of the NCDMB/Dangote Joint Technical Committee (JTC), held in Lagos on Friday under the theme, “Beyond Compliance: Partnering for Sustainable Nigerian Content Development.”

The retreat brought together stakeholders from the oil and gas industry and relevant government institutions to examine operational challenges, improve regulatory coordination and identify practical ways to expand indigenous participation across Nigeria’s energy value chain.

In his keynote address, the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, represented by the Senior Technical Adviser and Director of Project Certification and Authorisation Directorate, Engr. Austin Uzoka, identified commitment, technology and financing as three fundamental pillars for building a resilient Nigerian content ecosystem.

Ogbe challenged industry players to look beyond compliance with the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act and confront the deeper requirements for sustaining investments in critical industrial infrastructure.

He emphasised that constructing world-class facilities was only one part of the industrialisation process, arguing that Nigeria must also develop the technical expertise, goods, services and supply-chain capabilities needed to operate, maintain and sustain such assets over their productive lives.

Drawing attention to the difficulties associated with Nigeria’s publicly owned refineries, he stressed the importance of building reliable domestic supply chains to support the continuous operations of the Dangote Refinery and other major industrial facilities.

The challenge, he indicated, was to ensure that the substantial investments in Nigeria’s industrial infrastructure translated into enduring economic benefits through the development of indigenous suppliers, service providers and technical professionals.

Without credible domestic supply chains, Ogbe warned, much of the value generated by industrial investments could continue to flow outside the country, weakening local value addition and limiting the wider economic benefits of such projects.

He therefore called for deliberate investment in the capabilities required to sustain major industrial assets, stressing that Nigerian companies must be equipped to provide the goods, works and services needed by the country’s expanding energy and industrial sectors.

Technology development featured prominently in his address, with the NCDMB chief emphasising the need to cultivate Nigerian expertise in the operation, maintenance and long-term management of industrial facilities rather than depend indefinitely on foreign capabilities.

Financing, he added, remained a major constraint on the ability of indigenous businesses to compete effectively. High interest rates and delays in accessing funds could prevent local enterprises from executing contracts, expanding their operations and undertaking the investments required to meet increasingly sophisticated industry demands.

For Nigerian content to achieve its full potential, he maintained, local businesses must have access to the capital, technology and skills needed to move from relatively simple assignments to more complex and higher-value industrial activities.

Ogbe also challenged stakeholders to consider how Nigeria could nurture a new generation of large-scale indigenous industrialists and support investors seeking to establish refineries and related facilities.

While acknowledging Dangote Group’s contribution to the development of domestic industrial capacity, he urged the industry to create opportunities for emerging Nigerian investors to succeed, arguing that a stronger indigenous refining sector could help position Nigeria as a major oil and gas hub.

Beyond its regulatory responsibilities, NCDMB reaffirmed its commitment to creating an enabling environment for Nigerian businesses to participate meaningfully in the industry, strengthen technical competence and compete for opportunities across the petroleum value chain.

In a presentation, the Director of Planning, Research and Statistics at NCDMB and Chairman of the NCDMB/Dangote Joint Technical Committee, Mr. Omomehin Ajimijaye, urged contractors, vendors and service providers operating within the Dangote business ecosystem to comply with Nigerian content requirements, register on the designated Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Joint Qualification System (NOGICJQS) digital platform and strengthen their participation in the sector.

Ajimijaye explained that the Board’s regulatory framework was intended to promote business growth and deepen indigenous participation, rather than create unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles for operators and service providers.

He outlined four major compliance pillars: Nigerian content planning, workforce localisation, local procurement, and capacity development.

Under the framework, companies bidding for projects are expected to submit Nigerian content plans showing how they intend to maximise indigenous participation. Employers must prioritise qualified Nigerians, procure goods and services available locally, and invest in skills development and technology transfer.

On expatriate employment, Ajimijaye explained that foreign personnel could be engaged where genuine skills gaps existed. However, companies were expected to work with the Board to establish such gaps and develop succession plans that would progressively prepare Nigerians to assume the positions.

He described NOGICJQS as a critical digital instrument for supplier registration, prequalification, capacity verification and validation of technical expertise.

Reliable industry data, he noted, would enable the Board to identify shortages in skills and technical capacity, connect businesses with qualified professionals and direct training investments towards areas of greatest need.

The emphasis on data and supplier verification reflects the wider challenge of ensuring that Nigerian content requirements translate into measurable improvements in local capacity, rather than remaining largely administrative obligations.

Ajimijaye commended Dangote Group for its collaboration with NCDMB since around 2019 in developing the capabilities of Nigerians through training in local and overseas institutions. He disclosed that some beneficiaries had subsequently secured employment within the group’s businesses.

He also underscored the importance of sustained investment in research and development to stimulate indigenous innovation, improve competitiveness and enable Nigerian companies to export technical expertise.

Highlighting the economic impact of Nigerian content interventions, Ajimijaye disclosed that the initiatives had retained more than $10 billion in the Nigerian economy, generated over 50,000 direct and indirect jobs, and supported more than 50 million man-hours of training.

Despite these gains, he said in-country value retention stood at approximately 61 per cent, below the 70 per cent target.

The gap, he suggested, underscored the need for stronger collaboration among regulators, operators, contractors and service providers to increase the share of industry expenditure retained within Nigeria.

He urged industry players to view Nigerian content not merely as a regulatory obligation but as an opportunity to expand businesses, develop technical expertise and build a more competitive domestic energy industry.

In his welcome address, the Group Vice President of Dangote Group, Dr. Edwin Devakumar, called for a fundamental shift from a compliance-driven approach to one based on national responsibility, ownership and commitment.

He argued that laws and regulations alone could not deliver sustainable Nigerian content unless individuals, businesses and institutions genuinely embraced the responsibility of building the country’s productive capacity.

“For sustainable Nigerian content development to succeed, it must not be seen as a regulatory burden. Every individual must regard it as something they genuinely want to do from the bottom of their heart,” he said.

Devakumar maintained that local content development must extend beyond the sourcing of raw materials to encompass skills transfer, workforce development and the growth of indigenous contractors into enterprises capable of undertaking increasingly complex projects.

The distinction is significant for an industry in which local participation can be measured not only by the proportion of goods and services sourced domestically but also by the depth of Nigerian technical expertise, the capacity of local businesses and their ability to compete for high-value contracts.

A stronger local industrial base would enable Nigerian businesses to move beyond supplying basic materials and services to developing advanced technical solutions, maintaining sophisticated facilities and participating in technology-intensive operations.

Such a transition would also help reduce dependence on foreign suppliers, strengthen domestic industrial linkages and create opportunities for Nigerian companies to serve markets beyond the country.

The need for effective regulatory coordination also featured prominently at the retreat, as the Director of Legal Services at NCDMB, Dr. Naboth Onyesoh, called for closer collaboration among government institutions responsible for investment facilitation, petroleum regulation and Nigerian content compliance.

Onyesoh argued that the mandates of the different agencies should complement one another in advancing national economic interests, rather than produce overlapping requirements, uncertainty or unnecessary operational delays.

He said inter-agency engagement should clarify statutory responsibilities and produce practical solutions to industry challenges instead of becoming a contest over institutional authority.

Addressing the regulatory environment within free zones, Onyesoh challenged the perception that the Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority (OGFZA) was the sole regulator of businesses operating in those areas.

He explained that OGFZA’s investment-promotion responsibilities did not override the statutory mandates of other government institutions, adding that incentives intended to attract investors and improve the ease of doing business did not exempt companies from applicable federal laws.

Depending on the nature of their operations, petroleum businesses remain subject to the relevant requirements of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority and NCDMB.

He also highlighted the roles of the Central Bank of Nigeria, customs and immigration authorities in facilitating financial transactions, monitoring goods and ensuring compliance with applicable regulations.

For investors, the distinction between investment incentives and regulatory exemptions is particularly important because uncertainty over institutional responsibilities can increase the cost of doing business, delay projects and weaken confidence in the investment environment.

“An incentive regime is a business advantage; it is not a regulatory exception,” Onyesoh said.

Reaffirming the importance of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, 2010, he said its provisions remained central to promoting indigenous participation, technology transfer, employment and domestic value retention.

He cautioned against narrow interpretations of the law that could exclude companies operating within free zones from contributing to local capacity development and the growth of Nigerian businesses.

Onyesoh urged OGFZA and other relevant agencies to strengthen regular engagement, information sharing and joint resolution of operational challenges, arguing that coordinated regulation would improve the ease of doing business, reinforce investor confidence, create jobs and increase the economic returns Nigeria derives from its petroleum resources.

Onyesoh also highlighted NCDMB’s efforts to expand indigenous maritime capacity through the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund, which supports local companies in acquiring vessels and growing their operations.

He disclosed that the Nigerian Content Fund was partnering with Nigeria LNG Limited on a shipyard project at Snake Island, aimed at strengthening domestic industrial capacity.

He further commended the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) for collaborating with NCDMB on vessel verification and indigenous participation in maritime operations.

The initiatives point to the importance of developing supporting industries around oil and gas operations, including vessel ownership, shipyard services and other maritime capabilities that can create opportunities for Nigerian companies beyond direct petroleum production.

A stronger indigenous maritime industry would also expand the range of technical and commercial services available locally, provided that financing, skills development and regulatory coordination keep pace with investment needs.

Earlier, the Alternate Chairperson of the NCDMB/Dangote Joint Technical Committee, Dr. Ebele Oputa, described the retreat as a family meeting of key stakeholders united by the objective of placing Nigerians at the centre of industrial development.

She acknowledged the contributions of participating government agencies and commended Devakumar for his longstanding commitment to Nigeria and investment in young Nigerians.

Oputa noted that his more than 33 years in the country and contributions to Nigerian content development had been instrumental to the collaboration between the Board and Dangote Group.

The discussions at the retreat underscored a central challenge facing Nigeria’s local content programme: translating regulatory requirements into sustainable domestic industrial capacity.

While compliance establishes the minimum obligations for companies operating in the sector, lasting progress depends on whether Nigerian businesses can obtain financing, acquire technology, develop skilled personnel and build the supply chains needed to compete on quality, cost and reliability.

The approximately 61 per cent in-country value retention reported at the retreat, against a target of 70 per cent, highlights the distance still to be covered.

Closing that gap would require more than increased local procurement. It would depend on the capacity of indigenous firms to manufacture goods, deliver specialised services, maintain complex industrial assets and undertake research and development that produces commercially viable solutions.

The sustainability of major investments, including the Dangote Refinery, also places a premium on the ability of Nigerian suppliers to meet demanding standards consistently. Local participation that cannot guarantee quality, reliability and competitive pricing may struggle to displace established external suppliers.

This makes access to affordable finance, technical training, technology transfer and effective industry data central to the next phase of Nigerian content development.

The regulatory dimension is equally important. Where agencies coordinate their requirements and clarify their respective responsibilities, businesses can plan investments with greater certainty. Conversely, duplication, conflicting interpretations and delays can undermine the same indigenous enterprises the policy is intended to support.

The retreat’s message was therefore that Nigerian content must become a shared industrial objective rather than a checklist for regulatory approval.

The task ahead of industry stakeholders is to translate that commitment into stronger local enterprises, deeper technical expertise, sustainable supply chains and greater domestic retention of the value generated by Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.