The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) on Wednesday at the Nigerian Content Tower (NCT), Yenagoa, held an interactive session with students union leaders of tertiary institutions in Bayelsa State, to raise awareness about the Board’s vision and mandate as well as projects in the state, and emphasise the important roles expected of students in the sustainable development of society.
In attendance were Student Union Government (SUG) officials drawn from Bayelsa Medical University, Yenagoa, Federal University, Otuoke, National Open University, Yenagoa Centre, University of Africa, Toru-Orua, Bayelsa State College of Health Sciences, Federal Polytechnic, Ekowe, Isaac Jasper Adaka Boro College of Education, Sagbama, and International Institute of Tourism and Hospitality, Yenagoa, among others.
Speaking on the topic “The Role of the Student Community in the Sustainable Development of Bayelsa State,” the General Manager, Human Capital Development (HCD) of the NCDMB, Mr. Esueme Dan Kikile Esq., said knowledge is critically important in the growth of individuals and particularly for students and young persons in the society.
Citing four exemplary student leaders of the past, namely, former President Nelson Mandela, Dr. Martin Luther King Jnr., Major Isaac Jasper Adaka Boro, and Ms. Malala Yousafzai, and the far-reaching impact they made on their respective societies, he charged them to imbibe qualities such as personal sacrifice, resilience, determination, and being focused in life.
“Each and everyone of you should be that instrument to change our state and our country for the better,” he declared, adding that the NCDMB has numerous programmes targeted at youth development, to fit them for roles in the oil and gas industry and in other spheres of national life. According to him, “We want to encourage youths to seek knowledge, be creative, be innovative.”
The HCD boss drew attention to the Nigerian Engineering Olympiad (NEO), a nationwide engineering, innovation and entrepreneurship competition for final year undergraduate engineering and postgraduate students, launched recently by the Board in partnership with Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited, First E&P, and the Nigerian Society of Engineers. He charged the students to participate in the programme, to test their abilities and contribute to innovating solutions to challenges in the society.
Scheduled to run for eight months, and with application deadline set at 11th January 2026, the initiative is designed to foster problem-solving skills, technical expertise, innovation, and business development. The prize for the winner, according to him, is comparable to that of a winner of Nigeria’s leading Reality TV Show.
Mr. Kikile further disclosed that the NCDMB is putting a plan together for students in tertiary institutions to have their industrial training with service companies in the oil and gas industry for practical exposure and work experiences before graduation. A similar programme of the Board, a three-year internship for young graduates, is being run with Renaissance Africa Energy Limited (formerly Shell Petroleum Development Company), he said.
There is also the Oil and Gas Field Readiness Training Programme, designed to train 10,000 young graduates in the top-10 high skills in the sector, an initiative of the Board aimed at creating a pool of manpower in anticipation of big-ticket projects for which Final Investment Divisions (FIDs)were recently announced.
In a related presentation, the General Manager, Corporate Communications Division (CCD), Dr. Obinna Ezeobi, explained that the oil and gas industry had been characterised by massive capital flight and lack of jobs for Nigerians until the enactment of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, 2010, which brought the NCDMB into existence. Its mandate is explicit: “To develop the capacity of the local supply chain for effective and efficient service delivery to the oil and gas industry, without compromising standards.”
According to him, “The whole idea of local content is about disruption, changing how things were being done in the oil and gas industry,” in line with the mandate of the Board and its vision, “To be the catalyst for the industrialization of the Nigerian oil and gas industry and its linkage sectors.”
The CCD boss said it was important that students in an oil-producing state have some idea of oil and gas industry operations and some idea of local content, how it connects to them and the environment, and that they have a role to play in attracting investments in the way they engage with those interested in coming to site projects in the State.
Dr. Ezeobi pointed out that the Board has been intentional in its activities, particularly its projects, in Bayelsa State, since its establishment. The Board erected its iconic 17-storey corporate headquarters, the tallest and most magnificent building in the South-South and South-East, in the state capital, Yenagoa.
From its construction stage, with hundreds of semi-skilled and skilled workers from the host community engaged, to the present time, with major industry-related activities that have brought thousands of industry players from within the country and from abroad to its office, the Board has boosted economic development in the State.
Also in the state capital, adjacent to the Nigerian Content Tower is the NCDMB Conference Hotel under construction, the first five-star hotel in the State, which has reached 80 per cent completion. It is a magnificent addition to the hospitality industry in the State and would boost tourism.
Dr. Obinna revealed that the NCDMB has been the moving force behind the multibillion-naira Oloibiri Oil and Gas Museum and Research Centre currently under construction by Julius Berger Plc, at Otuabagi in Ogbia Local Government Area of the State. The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTD), and Bayelsa State Government are collaborating in the project, which is expected to be completed within completed within 30 months.
The Board has also built an industrial park, the Nigerian Oil and Gas Park Scheme (NOGaPS) at Emeyal, in Ogbia Local Government Area, “to incubate local manufacturing,” while a 10-megawatt thermal power plant, built by the Board is already operational at Elebele, supplying electricity to the NCT and to Government House in the state capital.
He disclosed that plans are at an advanced stage for Brass Shipyard, where tankers would drydock and get fitted, on the back of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Train-7 Project in Finima, Bonny Island.
He advised youths and host communities to always pursue dialogue with companies whenever there are any grievances and to refrain from disruptive activities, which would send negative signals to prospective investors.
In turns, students sought answers to matters bordering on registration on the Board’s Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content (NOGIC) Joint Qualification System (JQS), opportunities for non-engineering graduates in the oil and gas industry, the departmental make-up of the NCDMB, and the lack of a good access road to the Oloibiri Museum.
In closing remarks, a supervisor in CCD, Mr. Teleola Oyeleke, expressed appreciation to the students for honouring the invitation to the event. He advised them that as students they should strive “to know something about everything and everything about something.”
