By Chioma Iruke
Lawmakers from Bayelsa State have commended the developmental strides of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) in the state, and has sought collaboration with the Board.
The commendation was conveyed by the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Abraham Ingobere when he led the principal officers on a courtesy visit to the NCDMB Executive Secretary, Engr. Simbi Wabote at the Board’s headquarters in Yenagoa on Thursday.
Ingobere mentioned that the Board’s interventions have brought development to the state and had helped to improve the lives of the youths. He applauded the various capacity building initiatives that the Board had sponsored which have helped to reduce the restiveness among youths.
While appreciating the Board for its support to the Bayelsa State Government, the speaker pleaded that the Board should also engage with the Legislative Arm of the state just like it is doing with the Executive.
The Lawmaker pledged the Assembly’s readiness to collaborate with the Board in ensuring conflict resolutions among the host communities where the Board’s projects are located so as to ensure that no delay is suffered.
“In our bid to collaborate with the Board, our committee on mineral resource will continue to ensure that there is peaceful working environment,” he said.
In his response, the Executive Secretary appreciated the lawmakers’ willingness to partner with the Board. He mentioned that the Board acts as a catalyst for the oil and gas sector and was not an interventionist agency.
Wabote informed the lawmakers that the Board is promoting various projects within the state that is currently creating jobs for youths, and that they would employ more people at completion and operation stages.
He mentioned that the Board will be willing to take the legislative members on a tour of the projects to enable them enact laws that will promote and protect investment in the state.
