How To Unlock Africa’s Energy Potential, by NCDMB Boss
Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Felix Omatsola Ogbe, has hinted on steps that can be taken by African leaders to unlock the continent’s energy potentials.
“Across our continent, we are blessed with abundant natural resources, yet the true measure of wealth lies not in extraction but how we harness, retain, and multiply value within our economies, he said in a keynote address entitled ‘unlocking Africa’s Potential through Local Content: Policies, Partnerships, and Progress,’ at the Nigerian International Energy Summit (NIES 2025).
He said “the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) presents an opportunity to position local content as a driver of continental industrialization.”
While urging the stakeholders to institute an Africa-wide local content framework that harmonises policies and fosters cross-border partnerships, Ogbe drew their attention to the critical role of policies, partnerships, and progress in unlocking Africa’s vast energy potential.
“Unlocking Africa’s potential through local content requires unwavering commitment to capacity building, policy refinement, and strategic partnerships,” just as the energy transition across the world and the dynamic global market dictate that African nations remain resolute in their efforts to maximise local value addition.
He assured stakeholders that “NCDMB remains committed to working with our African counterparts to share best practices, co-develop industrial hubs, and create synergies that benefit the wider energy landscape.”
Commenting on new investments, the executive secretary commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for signed the Executive Orders, which made Nigeria Africa’s top destination for oil and gas sector investments.
He noted that the Executive Order reduced the contracting cycle for oil and gas projects from thirty-six (36) months to six (6) months. “This directive sped up project approvals and removed bureaucratic delays. It has also boosted investor confidence and accelerated project execution.”
The NCDMB boss added that the Executive Orders led to four Final Investment Decisions (FID) within a year.
Speaking on Nigeria’s experience in local content development, Ogbe said “by maximizing local participation in the oil and gas value chain, we have created jobs and enhanced economic development.
“We have demonstrated how capacity building, policy refinement, and joint partnerships can create a thriving, self-sustaining oil and gas ecosystem.”
The NCDMB, which he described as Nigeria’s pre-eminent local content regulator, has thus far prioritised development of indigenous skills, asset and equipment ownership, and local manufacturing capabilities. To support the above-mentioned priorities, the board has in place a number of initiatives, such as the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCIF) to provide affordable financing to support indigenous businesses in acquiring assets, expanding operations, and delivering world-class services.
He also highlighted the Board’s Human Capacity Development (HCD) programmes, which continue to train thousands of Nigerians in specialised skills that align with industry needs, and the Project 100 Initiative, which targets capacity development for indigenous service companies some of which have become big-time industry players operating across international boundaries.
