Nation
Stakeholders Advocate Local Solutions To Challenges In Africa’s Oil And Gas Industry
Key stakeholders and policy leaders in Africa’s oil and gas industry, and other related sectors have stressed the need for Africa to look within for solutions to Africa’s problems in the face of global economic challenges.
The stakeholders who gathered at the third edition of the African Local Content Roundtable which took place in Abuja between October 25 and 26, 2023 with the theme “Fostering Local Content In Africa for Africans,” jointly agreed that the concept of local content is not merely a policy, but a catalyst for transformation.
They noted that the roundtable is a conduit through which inspirations can be channelled into concrete achievements.
Setting the context at the Pan-African engagement, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) Engr. Simbi Wabote, noted that one of the greatest challenges bedevilling the African Oil and Gas industry is local manufacturing of components.
According to him, “90 percent if not more of the equipment that we use are imported because we’ve not focused on how to manufacture some of the components in-country.”
While noting that “the importance of developing homegrown cost-effective affordable and scalable solutions to address local challenges cannot be overemphasised,” the NCDMB boss identified prioritisation of research and development as well as funding as key to delivering local content goals on the continent.
He, therefore, called for robust engagements on quality service and equipment manufacturing, cross-border partnerships, intensive out-of-the-box thinking and improvement of funding sources or leveraging additional funding sources to overcome the funding challenges of oil and gas producing countries.
“The time for change is now and it is our collective responsibility to usher in a new era of local content development and implementation in Africa’s oil and gas industry,” said Wabote, adding that “the NCDMB stands as a key advocate In local content development not just in Nigeria but Africa as a whole.”
Similarly, the Secretary General of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (APPO), Omar Farouk, lamented that Africa has continued to be dependent on foreign oil and gas technologies despite being in the oil producing business for nearly 100 years and making billions from oil and gas projects.
“We have sadly been conditioned to believe that such dependency is normal. More alarming is the fact that the African continent has the highest proportion of its population living in energy poverty with over 600 million Africans living without access to electricity and millions of others living without any access to modern energy. 70% of the oil we produce is exported. 70% of the gas is also exported”, Farouk said.
“Africa must be allowed to use its affordable and readily available source of energy mainly oil and gas. Today’s developed countries used it to get to where they are today, we must be allowed to also use it to lift the living conditions of our people and get them out of poverty”, he added.
While challenging stakeholders to take advantage of the roundtable in addressing the legitimate concerns, Farouk assured of APPO’s commitment to changing “the pathetic situation.”
On his part, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, said that the theme of this year’s Roundtable is “very appropriate for Africa to evolve from not just supplying raw materials, but developing capacity and capability to explore, produce and process its hydrocarbons resources into petroleum derivatives for its own use.”
He commended the NCDMB, APPO and Heritage Times (HT) for organising the roundtable which he said “aligns with the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Tinubu that is anchored on positioning the Nigerian economy to look inward for goods, services and manpower needs of strategic sectors of the economy.”
Also present at the event was the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kolo Kyari, who stressed the need for Africa to prioritise and promote local content development in all aspects of operations.
According to him, “Africa must ensure a future where it is driving the technological advancement and innovation that is tailored to address our peculiar challenges. The continent must also ensure a just energy transition in line with climate change objectives. This means we must begin to empower local businesses, create jobs and add value to our economies beyond what we have done in the past decade. Therefore, this is a call to a commitment to utilising our own resources, expertise and workforce to maximise the benefits of our energy sector.”
Represented by the Chief Innovation Officer NNPCL, Muniru Mai, the GCEO said the state oil company “understands the importance of local content and have made it the centre of our operations, we are committed to achieving the highest level of local content in all of our projects from upstream exploration to downstream activities.”
As part of activities lined up for the first day of the local content roundtable, stakeholders went on a visiting tour to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Research, Development and Innovation Centre in Abuja.
The tour saw stakeholders observe the need for the centre to double its effort in forging partnerships, collaboration and cooperation with African peers with a view to delivering on local content goals in the oil and gas industry. They also assured the centre of providing any support it needs to help foster local content in Africa’s oil and gas industry.
A visiting tour was also paid to Amal Technology, a gas leak detector production facility. Notably, the company is a project that was instituted and supported by the NCDMB.
The tour allowed stakeholders to evaluate the impact of the NCDMB in initiating and catalysing the growth of indigenous oil and gas companies.
Activities of the fast-growing company struck chords of excitement in the APPO scribe who not only lauded the efforts of the Board but appreciated how far Amal Technology has come in just 5 years.
“Africa is changing. Time was when success was measured on import capacity. We live in an age where ideas, indigenous capacity and exports define success. We can only transform the continent by looking within,” said Ibrahim.
“We are happy to see NCDMB supporting young men and women to chart a path in Africa’s oil and gas industry which has a future. At APPO we understand the importance of partnership and are ever ready to provide Amal Technology the support it needs.”
Since its maiden edition, the African local content roundtable has continued to play an important role in advancing local content development across Africa by raising awareness of its importance, formulating supportive policies and ultimately strengthening capacities of capabilities of local players across the oil and gas value chain.
The 3rd edition of the African Local Content Roundtable aims to review innovative approaches instituted by the African Petroleum Producers Organisation (APPO) Member Countries to drive Local Content development and sustainability of Africa’s hydrocarbon resources.
The yearly series of the Roundtable which was conceived and first hosted by the Nigerian Content Monitoring and Development Board (NCDMB), was subsequently institutionalized as an APPO Project following the huge success of the inaugural edition held between June 3 & 4, 2021, at the NCDMB Towers in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria.
The Executive Secretary of the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), Dr Chioma Ejikeme, has reiterated the commitment to service delivery for pensioners.
Ejikeme said this during the Customer Service Week in Abuja, yesterday.
He said that commission had a mandate to deliver good service delivery to the pensioners.
Ejikeme, who was represented by the Director Civil Service Pension Department, Mr Kabir Yusuf, said that the customer service week was important to operations of PTAD.
“Customer service is the support that you give to a customer, whether it is an existing customer or potential customer in the process of delivering or making enquires about a service.
“To be a good customer service representative you need to be knowledgeable, have good attitude and attribute especially to the senior citizens and have empathy,” he said.
Ejikeme said that all PTAD staff had most of the attributes of a good customer representative.
“We provide excellent customer service by going to verify our aged pensioners who cannot do it by themselves anywhere across the country.
“There is a dedicated team that was mandated to go round to confirm the aliveness of those who can not confirm their aliveness either because the are too old or have health issues,” the executive secretary said.
The National Coordinator, SERVICOM, Mrs Nnenna Akajemeli, said that the official theme of the 2024 customer service week was “ We Go Above and Beyond For Our Customers.”
She commended PTAD and the SERVICOM team for organising the 2024 customer service week.
“This is in line with the best practice of celebrating frontline workers and service takers.
“Customer service week is celebrated annually during the first full week in October.
It calls attention to the importance of people to boost morale team work and departmental collaboration in supporting pensioners.
“ It is a platform to reward employees for the significant work they do,” Akajemeli said.
She said that the objective of the customer service week was to celebrate the hard work and dedication of employee who strived to create positive customer experiences.
She said that it was time to show customers that the organisation valued their experience and feedback, through comment cards, dedicated hotline, among others.
Akajemeli said that it raised awareness internally and externally about the importance of good customer service in building customer loyalty and satisfaction.
She said that the benefit was to increase motivation, show appreciation, encourage friendly competition, boost employee retention, create a positive workplace and increase productivity.
The Head, Surveillance Department at the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Mr Abdulrahman Saleem, said that good service delivery was the key success of every establishment.
Salem said that PTAD operated with standard, considering the success it had achieved so far.
Saleem said that pensioners required the best service attitude and behavior.
“ I give kudos to PTAD for its efforts and encourage it to do more.
“Therefore I urge PTAD staff to keep up the standard and continue to give good service to the pensioners,” he said.
The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, has honoured Flying Officer David Sangokoya for winning the 2023/2024 Royal Air Force College Cranwell International Cadet Sword of Honour.
Abubakar honoured the officer during the presentation of cheques to 13 beneficiaries of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Group Personal Accident Insurance Policy (GPAIP) in Abuja, yesterday.
He described the achievement as ground-breaking as it was the first time an African cadet had won the prestigious award since the Academy’s creation over 100 years ago.
According to him, the feat underscores the excellence that exists within NAF, and proof that NAF officers and cadets can stand shoulder to shoulder with the best in the world.
“To our awardee, you have set a new standard, not just for your peers, but for every cadet and officer that will come after you.
“This accomplishment is a powerful reminder that no goal is out of reach when one is armed with dedication, discipline and an unwavering commitment to excellence.
“Your journey as an officer has begun with this prestigious accolade, but the true measure of your success will be seen in how you serve, lead and contribute to the mission of NAF and the defence of our great nation.
“As we celebrate this historic occasion, we extend our deepest gratitude to the United Kingdom Government for its unwavering support in providing world-class training opportunities to our personnel.
“This has enabled our officers and men to gain invaluable skills and knowledge, strengthening not only our bilateral ties but also our collective ability to address global security challenges,” he said.
The CAS said that the NAF looked forward to continuing the fruitful partnership for the mutual benefit of Nigeria and UK countries.
He expressed gratitude and unflinching loyalty to President Bola Tinubu for his commitment to the welfare and training of members of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, and NAF in particular.
“I must also take a moment to extend my heartfelt appreciation to the leadership of the Nigerian Defence Academy and the instructors who helped to mould and prepare this cadet for the global stage.
“Their dedication and commitment to developing top-notch officers is evident in this ground-breaking achievement.
“You have not only trained a leader but have given the Nigerian Air Force a legacy we will all cherish,” he said.
National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has advocated private sector involvement to strengthen Nigeria’s healthcare system.
The Director-General of the authority, Dr Kelechi Ohiri, made the call at a high-level policy dialogue on sustainable health system reforms in Nigeria in Abuja, yesterday.
The Tide’s source reports that the dialogue was organised by the Healthcare Federation of Nigeria (HFN), a coalition of private sector stakeholders, to address the multifaceted challenges plaguing the country’s healthcare system.
The dialogue has “Private Sector Support for SWAP (Sector Wide Approach) in Healthcare” as its theme.
Represented by Dr Yakubu Agada-Amade, the NHIA Director of Standards and Quality Assurance, Ohiri explained the crucial role of private sector collaboration in strengthening Nigeria’s healthcare system
He highlighted the “One Plan” under the SWAp framework, which seeks to unify health sector efforts, ensuring efficient resource use, effective governance and expanded healthcare access.
He also stressed the importance of overcoming barriers that historically hindered the implementation of healthcare interventions in Nigeria, such as inadequate financing, weak governance systems, and bureaucratic bottlenecks.
He added that “the dialogue explored innovative approaches, including digital health innovations and financing mechanisms to accelerate the implementation of the National Health Act and mandatory health insurance coverage.
“With enrollment in health insurance growing by 14 per cent over the past year, NHIA can push for greater inclusivity, particularly targeting the informal sector through flexible payment systems and partnerships with telecommunications companies.”
He called for stronger synergy between public and private health actors to ensure universal access to quality healthcare and sustainable reforms in line with the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative (NHSRII).
Panelists from the Association of Nigerian Private Medical Practitioners (ANPMP), Healthcare Providers Association of Nigeria (HCPAN) and Health and Managed Care Association of Nigeria (HMCAN) echoed the sentiments, underscoring the private sector’s role in expanding insurance coverage and improving healthcare delivery.
They commended NHIA’s efforts toward driving reforms to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) through the Sector-Wide Approach (SWAp).