By Adewale Sanyaolu
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has said that it recovered close to $100 million following a forensic audit carried out on all deductions made by some oil and gas companies that were not remitted to the Nigerian Content Development Fund (NCDF).
The Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Simbi Wabote, disclosed this at the Nigerian Bar Association- Section on Business Law (NBA-SBL) and the NCDMB Colloquium held in Lagos yesterday.
Section 104 of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act stipulates the deduction of one percent of the value of contracts awarded in the upstream sector of the oil and gas industry to be remitted into the NCDF. The Fund is used for funding the development of Nigerian Content in the oil and gas industry.
NCDMB had last year said it was considering stiff sanctions against defaulters, including the possibility of barring them from participating in the tendering system for upstream contracts and instituting a process whereby companies must obtain NCDF clearance before their applications for expatriate quota will be processed by the Board.
Delivering a keynote speech on the theme; NOGCID Act- Strides: Challenges and Opportunities, Wabote said that Nigeria’s hydrocarbon footprint is indeed very important in the global hydrocarbon landscape due to its enviable proven crude oil reserves estimated at about 38 billion barrels, which makes it the second largest crude oil reserve in Africa and 10th in the world, coupled with its enormous proven gas reserves of over 203tcf, which ranks as the largest gas reserve in Africa and 9th in the world.
Wabote who was represented by the Director, Legal Services at the NCDMB, Mohammed Umar, said that since the implementation of the NOGCID Act in 2010, 35 per cent of in-country value retention has been recorded compared to the less than 5 per cent value retention before the NOGCID Act, noting that over 50,000 direct jobs have been created on the back of the implementation of NOGCID Act.
He revealed that the board has delivered on the various strategic initiatives in the last 4 years, stressing that forensic audit of NCDF remittances is gaining traction.
“The launch of the $200 million Nigerian Content Intervention Fund recently increased to $350 million with additional products for working capital and for women in Oil and Gas while forensic audit of NCDF remittances with the recoveries is now close to $100 million.
We have successfully exited appropriation since 2018 and we intend to maintain our self-funding status through prudent management of the Nigerian Content Development Fund entrusted in our care to $100 million”, Wabote said.
The Board’s Executive Secretary hinted that the NCDMB remains focused on its 10-year strategic roadmap as it aspires to attain 70 per cent Nigerian Content level by the year 2027.
Whilst stating the challenges in delivering its mandate, Wabote assured that the NCDMB will continue to make concerted efforts towards surmounting them.