By PR
The Project Certification and Authorisation Directorate (PCAD) of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) on Thursday at the Conference Centre of the Nigerian Content Tower (NCT), Yenagoa, emphasised that capacities and technical capabilities developed by Nigerian professionals and service companies have to be optimally utilised and that every tender for projects in the oil and gas industry is an opportunity for deployment of such expertise and assets.
PCAD, one of the seven operational directorates of the NCDMB, charged with plan approvals and tender certification, contracting and operations management, as well as compliance guidance, was making a technical presentation at the second edition of the monthly LearnFest Series organised by the Nigerian Content Academy (NCA), the specialised knowledge-sharing and training arm of the NCDMB. The topic of the presentation was “Understanding the Processes and Policies of PCAD.”
Representing the Acting Director of PCAD, Engr. Austin Uzoka, an Assistant Manager in the Board, Engr. Bernard Nwaokedibe, highlighted the mission of the Directorate, “To extract Nigerian Content commitments before contract awards” as per the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, 2010, and its vision, which is “To maximise local content value across projects in the Nigerian oil and gas sector.”
He told the gathering, comprising all staff of the NCDMB at its corporate headquarters, that “Behind every tender in the hydrocarbons industry is an opportunity for Nigerian engineers, an opportunity for indigenous/community contractors, an opportunity for Nigerian service companies to showcase their various capacities and capabilities.”
He stressed as he explained the “Operational Framework of PCAD,” that an awareness of the processes and requirements involved is important to enable all stakeholders to understand how to identify opportunities and maximise participation in project execution in the industry.
He urged staff of the Board to promote interdepartmental collaboration: “Where does your work connect to the processes that are being shared with you? And what can we do better?”
He explained the import of the Presidential Directives released by the Federal Government in February 2024, pointing out that they reinforced the operations of the NCDMB. “Presidential Directives were not signed to replace the law (NOGICD Act, 2010), but rather provide enablers and support structures to attract additional investments in the oil and gas industry,” he clarified.
In a panel discussion session, moderated by Dr. Mpigi Gbenekanu, of the NCA, the Nigerian Content contracting cycle, and the role of Service Level Agreements (SLAs) in improving efficiency and accountability, were examined. Highpoints were that compliance must be integrated into the contracting process from the outset, and that timely and complete documentation would facilitate efficient processing.
Members of the panel were Engr. Bernard Nwaokedibe, Assistant Manager (Upstream), PCAD; Engr. Elvis Adimie Ogede, Senior Supervisor (Upstream), PCAD, and Mr. Basil Aliebiri, Senior Supervisor (Upstream), PCAD.
In his remarks at the event, the Director, Monitoring and Evaluation Directorate (MED), Mr. Esueme Dan Kikile, Esq., commended the Capacity Building Directorate (CBD) for initiating the LearnFest Series and the presenter, Engr. Nwaokedibe, for his “wonderful presentation.”
According to him, “It was good knowledge sharing for all of us” and that the event marked the beginning of more good things to come. “We have to exceed our customers’ expectations,” he declared in exhortation.
In her own closing remarks, the General Manager, NCA, Ms. Doris Opuwari, thanked everyone for their active participation, while soliciting feedback from attendees to help the Academy plan better for future outings. She announced that the next lecture would be presented by the Capacity Building Directorate.