By John Ikani
The Executive Secretary of Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Simbi Wabote has been named Leadership Newspaper Oil & Gas Local Content Person of the Year 2022.
The local content boss bagged the recognition – instituted by the Nigerian-based newspaper independent of political control – for effectively steering the NCDMB and ensuring the protection and promotion of local content operations in the oil and gas sector, which prior to now was largely dominated by foreign operators.
Engr. Wabote was formally notified of the recognition when a delegation from Leadership Group Limited led by the Editor in Chief, Abu Ishiekwene visited the Board’s liaison office in Abuja, on Thursday and presented the ES a letter communicating his selection and suitability for the award.
The letter listed some of Engr. Wabote’s achievements at the NCDMB to include raising local content in the oil and gas sector from 26 per cent in 2016 to 54 per cent by the end of 2022; providing continuous funding for indigenous operators through the N500 billion Intervention Fund thereby creating over 300, 000 direct and indirect jobs in the country, amongst others.
“So while we cherish the core responsibility of the media under section 22 of the Constitution which is to hold government and its agencies accountable, it is also the responsibility of the media to recognise and encourage those who are doing well and model them for the larger society to emulate.
“That perception is at the heart of what we do. It’s not a negation of our fundamental responsibility as the media,” said Ishiekwene in the formal letter.
Reacting to the communication, Engr. Wabote attributed the successes of the board to the teamwork and resilience of members of staff of the agency.
According to him, “the bulk of the heavy lifting is usually done by my colleagues while my responsibility is to give them the leadership and the support needed to succeed”.
He went on to thank the newspaper for recognising the board’s achievements noting that “We have worked very hard to build an efficient agency among the MDAs in the country.
“Little wonder we were ranked No. 1 on the ease of doing business amongst other MDAs by the presidency. We also received the president’s recognition award last year.”
Engr. Wabote will be receiving the award alongside a host of other awardees on 31st January at the International Conference Centre Abuja during a conference with the theme ‘Credible Elections And An Economy In Transition’.
In case you missed it
The Leadership Newspaper Oil & Gas Local Content Person of the Year 2022 Award will be making its way to a trove of recognitions that have mounted Engr. Wabote’s cabinet for his relentless efforts at initiating, regulating and catalysing new opportunities that engender value-adding activities in-country and on the African continent at large.
Barely eight months ago, the ES received the Vanguard Newspaper Regulator of The Year 2021 Award – instituted by the Nigerian-based newspaper independent of political control – for his “doggedness in delivering local content goals.”
Engr. Wabote was appointed as the Executive Secretary of the NCDMB by President Muhammadu Buhari on September 29, 2016.
In recognition of his excellent performance during the first tenure, he was reappointed for a second term by the President on September 25, 2020.
The NCDMB was established in 2010 by the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, with a core mandate to manage and grow Nigeria’s local content capacity. So far, it has lived up to its mandate.
For more insight into NCDMB’s giant strides under the transformational leadership of Engr. Wabote, see his self-authored chronicle titled: 6 Years Of Raising The Bar In Local Content Development.
