For championing the development of local content across Nigeria and the African continent, and building capacity to raise the indigenous content retention levels in the oil and gas industry, among others, Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote is the LEADERSHIP Oil & Gas Local Content Champion of the Year 2022
Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote is the incumbent executive secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB). He was appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari in September 2016 to lead the Board; he was re-appointed for a second term in 2021 due to his impressive work at the agency.
Engr. Wabote has transformed the Board and Nigerian content achievements from 26 per cent in 2016 to well over 47 per cent by 2022. On his watch, the NCDMB developed a 10-year Strategic Roadmap with the key objective of achieving 70 per cent Nigerian Content in the oil and gas industry, creating 300,000 direct jobs and establishing major fabrication facilities in-country as well as setting up manufacturing hubs in-country for the manufacture of equipment, components and accessories required by the oil and gas industry and its linkage sectors.
The NCDMB created a $500million Nigerian Content Intervention Fund, which is managed by the Bank of Industry and NEXIM Bank to provide affordable credit to Nigerian oil and gas service companies and community contractors with single-digit interest rate.
Through this intervention, the Board has effectively addressed the challenge of lack of affordable capital which hampered growth and development of many indigenous service providers.
Engr. Wabote also spearheaded the domiciliation of 50 per cent of the $5billion NLNG Train 7 Project. Over a half of the project scope is being executed in the country by Nigerian vendors and is expected to create 12,000 direct jobs expected to engender peace in the Niger Delta region.
In July 2022, Engr. Wabote spearheaded the NCDMB’s unveiling of the Seven Ministerial Regulations to promote local content compliance and implementation. In the same month, the agency, in partnership with the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), also unveiled the Insurance Guidelines for the Nigeria Oil and Gas Sector to boost local insurance companies’ participation in providing the desired insurance for the sector.
In August 2022, NCDMB emerged first in the Executive Order 001 (EO1) Compliance Report released by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC).
On his watch, the NCDMB also endowed $50million Nigerian Content Research and Development Fund to support research findings that have practical utilisation and have capability of being commercialised and applied to solve problems in the economy.
