It was a day of double glory for Dr Obinna Ezeobi, General Manager, Corporate Communications at the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB, on Saturday as he formally bagged his doctorate degree at UNIPORT’s 35th convocation ceremony and also presented his book- Local Content: A Journey of Strategic Communication and Economic Transformation- to the Port Harcourt public.
Apart from Ezeobi, Dr. Abdulmalik Halilu, Director, Corporate Services, also of the NCDMB family, equally bagged a doctoral degree from the same University of Port Harcourt and they were both celebrated by the executive secretary, Felix Omatsola as well as the newly appointed Director of Finance and Personnel Management (DFPM), Mr. Uchenna Ossaowa Andrew, and immediate past chairman of Oil and Gas Trainers Association of Nigeria (OGTAN) and member of NCDMB Governing Council, Mazi Sam Azoka Onyechi.
At the reception where the book was presented, chairman of the occasion, Chief Nathan Egba, who is also a former commissioner for information in Bayelsa State, described Ezeobi’s book as a powerful chronicle of NCDMB’s influence on Nigeria’s oil and gas sector and an essential contribution to policy discourse.
The book was first released in April 2025, and coincided with the 15th anniversary of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act. It was endorsed by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil) Senator Heineken Lokpobiri and his Gas counterpart Hon Ekperikpe Ekpo and the current and past Executive Secretaries of NCDMB.
Mr. Teddy Bai, a supervisor in NCDMB’s Corporate Communications division, celebrated Ezeobi’s commitment and influence, describing his achievement as a milestone in strategic nation building.
Also, Mr. Hector Igbikiowubo, Media Adviser to the Sole Administrator of Rivers State Government, and Engr. Bashir Ahmed, Supervisor at the NCDMB, who spoke on the book’s detailed account of communication strategies and stakeholder engagement.
Halilu’s doctorate is in Energy, Economics, Management and Policy, and crowns his years of intellectual interventions and leadership at the industry and NCDMB where he has held several roles, including Manager Strategy, General Manager Research and Statistics, Director Planning, Research and Statistics, Director Monitoring and Evaluation and currently as Director Corporate Services.
