Key infractions have been traced to the inauguration of the Governing Council of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, (NCDMB), which key industry sources have identified as an official procedural breach.
The NCDMB Governing Council is set up under the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act and draws membership from representatives of select institutions connected with the oil and gas industry.
Members of the new NCDMB Council were first announced by President Bola Tinubu on December 7, 2023, who said they would be chaired by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, while the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe would serve as the Secretary of the Council.
Other members include the Executive Vice President, Gas, Power, and New Energy, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd, Mrs. Oritsemyiwa Eyesan, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Engr. Gbenga Komolafe, the representative of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Bekearedebo Augusta Warrens and the Chairman of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), Mr. Nicholas Odinuwe. Others include the Commissioner for Insurance and Chief Executive Officer of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM ), Mr Olorundare Sunday Thomas, Chairman of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering (COREN), Prof.Sadiq Abubakar and the representative of the Nigerian Content Consultative Forum (NCCF), Dr Raphael Samuel.
Before this development some stakeholders in the oil and gas industry expressed reservations after Lokpobiri, an overturned key decision by the executive secretary, ES, of the Board, Felix Ogbe.
Their reaction follows the reversal of the decision of the executive secretary, redeploying some staff of the Board.
The Minister, in a letter dated 5th March, 2024, and addressed to the ES, with reference no HMSO/MPR/SSA/005/VOL1/009, said that it has become imperative to emphatically state that the Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry Content Act 2010 does not empower the Executive Secretary to redeploy or appoint Management Staff.
Citing Section 81 (2) (b) of the Act, the Minister said “Those policies and the administration of the daily affairs of the Board. The ES therefore does not have the power to redeploy, appoint or employ Management Staff.”
However, sources with key knowledge of the industry have revealed that one of the persons listed and inaugurated as board member of the Governing Council of NCDMB was redeployed by the Federal Ministry of Finance through the Accountant General of federation two weeks before the event on the Wednesday February 14, 2024.
In a Circular from Office of the Accountant General of the Federation referenced (TRO/865/VOL.XIX/6 and dated February 5, which detailed movement of Treasury officers from their present positions. The movement affected Warrens Bekearedeb, A, Director on Grade Level 17. The officer was posted from FMPR (AUDIT) to the Accounts Department of Nigeria Lottery Regulatory Commission. The movement also affected six other officers on the same Grade level.
There is growing development which points to the fact that the hurried composition and inauguration totally disregarded extant laws setting up the Governing Council.
An industry source that requested anonymity told the LEADERSHIP that the Minister overlooked some important issues which include the non-inclusion of two important bodies which hitherto had been part of the Council.
According to the Act, Section 71(1) of the NOGICD Act 2010 establishes the NCDMB Governing Council while section 72 of the Act listed the composition of the GC to include representatives of: Ministry of Petroleum Resources (MPR), Council of Registered Engineers of Nigeria (COREN), NNPC PLC, Nigerian Content Consultative Forum (NCCF), Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), The Agency in charge of Technical Regulation of the Industry (NUPRC) and The Executive Secretary of the NCDMB who shall also be the Secretary of the Council.
The Council is primarily responsible for the overall policy direction and oversight of the affairs of the Board. Based on the power vested in the President, new members of the Governing Council were announced on the 7th of December 2023.
The composition of the new membership was drawn from the statutory bodies enumerated above.
However, on the 29th of February 2024, the Minister purportedly acting on the orders of the President inaugurated the NCDMB Governing Council with all the new members except the NAICOM and PETAN representatives who were reappointed by the President.
However, the two major issues from the new Governing Council Inauguration is stemmed from the fact that the HMS who is also a new member of the Council ought not to have inaugurated the new Council which he is a member
