Investigate Our Activities:NCDMB Tells Journalists.

 

 The Nigerian Content   Development and Monitoring Board ( NCDMB) has urged the media to investigate its activities since its inception and tell the public its achievements and lacks  so far.

 This was as the board revealed that it has achieved 545 local content policy from  the time of its establishment to now promising that  by year 2027, it would have achieved  up to 70% local content in country.

 Speaking on behalf of the board on Tuesday in Port Harcourt Rivers State during  a capacity building workshop organized for  media stakeholders from the South south Region, Esueme Dan Kikile, Manager, Corporate Communications of the board urged the media to do a lot of investigations  on the board adding that those kind of reports will surely earn them awards.

 With this year’s theme  “the role of media in sustaining Nigerian content legacies,  Kikile  advised the media to also come up with some ideas that will help the board to do better.

He said “We are speaking today on sustaining local content.  We know that in the last thirteen years, the Nigerian content has moved from 5% to 54%. We also know that in the last few days we have had a transition in NCDMB.

“We have moved from the  Simbi Wabote’s era to now the  era of  the new Executive Secretary, Engineer Felix Ogbe. Because we had the transition, it is important that as  media, we put to the front burner what local content has become in the Nigerian economy.  As the  key drivers of information, education and entertainment, the media should continue to bring the issue of local content as a thematic area of discussion. 

 “We use this engagement to learn, re-learn and unlearn.   This workshop is important as media  frontiers especially in this advent of Artificial Intelligence   and new tools of media reporting, we will also continue to learn what we have learnt and re learn continuously so that we are not left behind.

“We have a leadership  that is deepened in the Oil and Gas Industry. The new Executive Secretary as a man deeply grounded in the oil and gas industry maters he has the capacity to take the Nigerian Content from 54% hopefully to 70% which is our target by the year 2027.

 “His mandate  from Mr President is to move the Nigeria Content from 54% to 70% and  for us a  team, we will give  him all the support that is required to achieve that.

 

He stated that  the  media is  a very powerful tool that can be  used  to showcase the Nigerian Content.

  He said “When local content said that they are 54%, I expect the media to interrogate that. How did you arrive at that, what were the metrics you used to determine your 54% Nigerian Content performance and by the way, what is Nigerian Content performance? It means that in every 100 dollars that is spent in  the oil and gas industry, 54 dollars is spent n Nigeria.

“Prior to now, it was less than 5 dollars to every  95 dollars  that were being spent outside.  Now we have tried to plough back up to 54%. Our expectation is that by 2027 when we will closing our our ten years strategic road map, we will spending 70% in country and that 70% will go to employing Nigerian services that are produced in Nigeria manufacturing activities and formulation activities in country. 

“For us, we require that the media interrogate us, we should not just report that  NCDMB  has moved local content to 54%. How did it arrive at that. And some of these stories, if you begin to do them you can be an award winning journalist  because you will deepen the conversation. You will come with facts  and  figures. 

“At the ed of the day, we want to see more investigative reports on Nigerian  Contents. We  are  open transparency and unaccountably.  He advised.

Also speaking, one of the facilitators at the workshop, Austin Tam- George  speaking on the topic fundamentals of media strategy and corporate story telling  added that the media is one of the most important key instrument for development. 

He said that  it the media that  will able to  question what NCDMB is doing adding that  this kind of strategic partnership that the board is building with the media is basically to build structures on public  accountability.

 “Through the synergy that NCDMB  is building with the media, the general pubic and the stakeholders in the oil and gas sector will know what is gong on. The media will ask questions concerning the performance  of NCDMB.

“And they will also use this opportunity to generate ideas on how the board can be more transparent and open, establish a feed back mechanism between the  board and the larger public.