The Nigerian Content Consultative Forum (NCCF), a crucial forum for promoting information exchange and cooperation among important industry stakeholders and suggesting interventions and policy changes, has started a strategic reset by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB). Delivering high-impact Nigerian content results is the reset’s objective.
The Board emphasized the need for a clear, practical path to reposition the forum as a more effective driver of in-country capacity building in the oil and gas industry during a two-day retreat and the first half of the NCCF’s 2026 Steering Committee Meeting.
The NCDMB Executive Secretary, Engr., announced the retreat’s opening. Felix Omatsola Ogbe called the meeting a “defining moment” in the NCCF’s development, pointing out that although the forum had grown steadily since its founding, a more thoughtful and strategic approach was now necessary.
“The NCCF started out as a concept with a basic organization but a big goal. We can now declare with confidence that this baby has grown, fortified by teamwork, nourished by your devotion, and supported by our common goal of promoting Nigerian content,” he stated.
The head of NCDMB, represented by the Acting Director, Planning, Research, and Statistics at NCDMB, emphasized that intentional planning must now be matched with progress and urged stakeholders to concentrate on long-term effect.
This retreat is a turning point, not simply another gathering. We are here to contemplate, examine our present circumstances, and map out a more lucid and strategic course for the NCCF,” he continued.
He emphasized Ernst & Young’s baseline analysis as a vital resource for comparing the forum to international best practices, finding gaps, and repositioning it for increased relevance. But he pointed out that people, not just structures, would be necessary for transformation.
“The quality of our engagement, the sincerity of our contributions, and our willingness to think beyond silos will determine the success of the framework, policy guidelines, and roadmap we seek to develop,” Ogbe said, exhorting participants to be thoughtful, constructive, and daring in their discussions.
Mr. Damilola Aloba, a partner at EY and session facilitator, gave the retreat’s background by outlining the three main goals of the engagement: strengthening aligned leadership on NCCF’s long-term direction; enhancing coordination between the Forum, its Sectoral Working Groups (SWGs), and NCDMB; and promoting shared ownership of its mission.
Aloba stated, “We want to ensure clear expectations across NCDMB, the NCCF Secretariat, and SWGs and strengthen aligned leadership on NCCF’s long-term direction.”
In order to facilitate more seamless implementation and more constant stakeholder engagement, he continued, the retreat will also improve coordination frameworks, guaranteeing a shared knowledge of execution duties throughout the ecosystem.
Stakeholder discussions and benchmarking studies, according to Aloba, exposed significant structural and operational shortcomings, such as ambiguous strategic direction, project clearance delays, and a lack of transparency around post-idea decision-making.
He pointed out that “unrefined expectations and the absence of a supportive framework” further limited performance and that “the forum lacks clear strategic direction from NCDMB, creating uncertainty among SWGs regarding expectations and deliverables.”
Additional conclusions included the lack of clear standards for evaluating project viability and impact, financial constraints brought on by reliance on NCDMB as the only financing source, and inadequate project evaluation and tracking capabilities.
He recognized the great dedication of SWG members in spite of these obstacles, especially when it came to allocating time and funds to capacity building projects throughout the oil and gas value chain.
NCCF is a statutory collaboration platform created under Sections 57 and 58 of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, according to an earlier summary of the forum’s activities given by NCCF’s Acting Deputy Manager, Engineer Bright Amatoru.
He clarified that since its founding in 2014, the NCCF has been working with stakeholders from 12 SWGs to pinpoint industry gaps, create solutions, and carry out focused interventions.
According to Amatoru, “our role is to identify issues in the priority mapping and, beyond that, provide solutions through extensive stakeholder engagement.”
Amatoru highlighted two significant accomplishments: the creation of the Marine Assets Listing System, which aims to create an extensive database of marine assets in the oil and gas sector, and National Operational Standards, which harmonize capacity building programs throughout SWGs.
Along with programs like the Women in Oil and Gas Conference and mentorship workshop conducted earlier in the year in association with the Diversity SWG, he also cited benchmarking studies in fabrication that are intended to solve scale gaps.
He did admit, though, that the forum’s capacity to successfully prioritize actions was hampered by the lack of a well-defined strategic framework.
As of right now, there isn’t a really clear guidance on how to choose interventions. As we connect industry standards with international best practices, that clarity is essential,” he stated.
The retreat is a component of NCDMB’s attempts to create a thorough NCCF strategic roadmap that is in line with both industry standards and the Board’s ten-year strategic plan.
In order to improve NCCF’s capacity to carry out its mandate within Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, participants are required to produce practical ideas, improve governance frameworks, and establish a clear execution pathway.
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