The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has commenced a strategic reset of the Nigerian Content Consultative Forum (NCCF) aimed at strengthening in-country capacity development in the oil and gas sector.
The initiative was unveiled during a two-day retreat and the first half of the 2026 Steering Committee Meeting of the NCCF, where the board emphasised the need for a clear and actionable roadmap to reposition the forum as a stronger driver of Nigerian content outcomes.
Declaring the retreat open, the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Felix Ogbe, described the gathering as a defining moment in the evolution of the NCCF.
He noted that while the forum had recorded steady progress since its establishment, the time had come for a more deliberate and strategic direction to guide its future activities.
“The NCCF began as a vision, modest in structure but bold in intent. Today, we can confidently say that this baby has grown, nurtured by your dedication, strengthened by collaboration and sustained by our shared commitment to advancing Nigerian content,” Ogbe said.
Represented by the Acting Director of Planning, Research and Statistics at NCDMB, Ogbe stressed that the next phase of the forum’s development must focus on long-term impact supported by intentional planning.
“This retreat is not just another meeting; it is a defining moment. We are here to reflect, interrogate our current realities and chart a clearer, more strategic path forward for the NCCF,” he added.
Ogbe highlighted a baseline study conducted by Ernst & Young (EY) as a key tool for benchmarking the forum against global best practices and identifying structural gaps that need to be addressed.
However, he noted that successful transformation would depend largely on stakeholder engagement and commitment rather than frameworks alone.
“The success of the framework, policy guidelines and roadmap we seek to develop will depend on the quality of our engagement, the sincerity of our contributions and our willingness to think beyond silos,” he said.
Providing context for the retreat, EY partner and session facilitator, Damilola Aloba, said the engagement was driven by three main objectives.
These include strengthening aligned leadership on the NCCF’s long-term direction, improving coordination between the forum, its Sectoral Working Groups (SWGs) and NCDMB, and fostering shared ownership of the forum’s mission.
“We want to strengthen aligned leadership on NCCF’s long-term direction and ensure clear expectations across NCDMB, the NCCF Secretariat and SWGs,” Aloba said.
He explained that stakeholder consultations and benchmarking analysis had identified several structural and operational gaps affecting the forum’s effectiveness.
Among the challenges highlighted were unclear strategic direction, delays in project approvals and limited clarity around decision-making processes after ideas are proposed.
“The forum lacks clear strategic direction from NCDMB, creating uncertainty among SWGs regarding expectations and deliverables,” Aloba noted.
He also cited budget constraints due to reliance on NCDMB as the primary funding source, weak project evaluation and tracking capacity, and the absence of clear criteria for assessing project viability and impact.
Despite these challenges, Aloba acknowledged the strong commitment of SWG members who continue to dedicate time and resources to capacity development initiatives across the oil and gas value chain.
Earlier, the Acting Deputy Manager of NCCF, Engr Bright Amatoru, provided an overview of the forum’s activities.
He explained that the NCCF is a statutory collaborative platform established under Sections 57 and 58 of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act to bring together stakeholders to identify industry gaps and develop solutions.
According to him, since its establishment in 2014, the forum has engaged stakeholders across 12 Sectoral Working Groups to drive targeted interventions within the industry.
“Our function is to identify issues in the priority mapping and, beyond that, provide solutions through extensive stakeholder engagement,” Amatoru said.
He highlighted several achievements recorded by the forum, including the development of National Operational Standards aimed at harmonising capacity development initiatives across the SWGs.
Other initiatives include the Marine Assets Listing System, which provides a comprehensive database of marine assets in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
Amatoru also referenced benchmarking studies in fabrication designed to address scale gaps, as well as capacity-building initiatives such as the Women in Oil and Gas Conference and mentorship programmes conducted earlier in the year.
However, he admitted that the absence of a clearly defined strategic framework has limited the forum’s ability to effectively prioritise interventions.
“As of today, we have not had a clear direction on how to select interventions. That clarity is critical as we align industry expectations with global best practices,” he said.
The retreat forms part of broader efforts by NCDMB to develop a comprehensive NCCF strategic roadmap aligned with the board’s ten-year strategic plan and the evolving needs of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
Participants at the retreat are expected to generate actionable ideas, refine governance structures and establish a clear execution pathway that will enhance the forum’s ability to deliver on its mandate.
