NCDMB Clarifies: Tinubu’s Executive Orders Did Not Weaken NOGICD Act Cape Town, South Africa – September 29, 2025 – The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has dismissed claims that recent presidential directives have diminished the relevance of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act. Speaking during a Local Content Masterclass at the ongoing African Energy Week in Cape Town, the Board emphasized that the three Executive Orders signed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in March 2024 were designed to strengthen efficiency and investment in the oil and gas sector, not undermine the country’s local content framework. The panel discussion, which highlighted Nigeria’s progress in local content implementation and provided lessons for other African producers, featured senior NCDMB officials including Director of Capacity Building, Engr. Abayomi Bamidele; General Manager, Monitoring and Evaluation, Mr. Silas Omomehin Ajimijaye; and General Manager, Nigerian Content Development Fund (NCDF), Ms. Fateemah Mohammed. The session was moderated by the Board’s GM Corporate Communications, Dr. Obinna Ezeobi. No Conflict Between Orders and Local Content Law Engr. Bamidele clarified that some stakeholders had misinterpreted the Executive Orders as rendering the NOGICD Act redundant. He explained: “The directives did not set aside local content. They only mandated that existing capacities must be patronized, and middlemen excluded from the contracting process.” The three directives cover Local Content Compliance, Reduction of Contracting Costs and Timelines, and Tax Incentives/Exemptions for Oil and Gas Companies. According to Bamidele, NCDMB has already streamlined its contracting approval process from nine to five stages, cutting costs and shortening project timelines. He also confirmed that qualified international service companies can now receive Nigerian Content Equipment Certificates (NCEC) for direct participation in deepwater operations — a move he said would attract investment while remaining consistent with the NOGICD Act. Building Skills and Infrastructure Bamidele added that the Board is investing in skill development to meet industry demands and is pressing ahead with major infrastructure projects, including the Brass Island Shipyard (with NLNG support) and Nigerian Oil and Gas Parks in Cross River and Bayelsa States. He advised other African countries to tailor local content models to their unique capacities, stressing the importance of aligning strategies with national skillsets and technological realities. Monitoring, R&D and Asset Transfers Mr. Ajimijaye highlighted the Board’s robust compliance monitoring framework, which ensures oil companies meet local content obligations even during asset transfers. He assured that divestments to indigenous operators have not negatively affected compliance. He also pointed to NCDMB’s growing emphasis on research and development, noting the establishment of six centers of excellence in Nigerian universities and ongoing support for 15 research projects through the Research and Development Fund. Financing Local Participation On her part, Ms. Fateemah Mohammed outlined the Board’s financing initiatives under the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCI Fund), which provides single-digit loans to indigenous service companies. She highlighted two key products: A ₦50 billion Community Contractors Fund, granting up to ₦100 million to grassroots contractors in the oil and gas sector. A $20 million Women in Oil and Gas Fund, managed by the Nigerian Export-Import Bank, designed to boost the participation of women entrepreneurs and industrialists. Mohammed encouraged other African nations to adopt similar financing schemes, stressing that expanded funding partnerships could unlock larger projects and drive sustainable skills development. The NCDMB maintained that the Executive Orders and the NOGICD Act remain aligned in advancing efficiency, local participation, and investment growth in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.