THE Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) is setting machineries in motion to ensure the establishment of five additional pipe mills in the country to further boost job creation efforts of the Federal Government.

The Executive Secretary of the Board, Ernest Nwapa said recently that the move would reduce time spent in the processing contract circles as industry operators groan under contract delays and empower the oil and gas sector to create massive jobs.

His words, “the issue of delay because of paper work is symptomatic. The root cause of delay is because of lack of capacity. We are focusing on building capacity because the lack of it is causing delays. Before NCDMB was created, the issue of long contracting circles has always been there well and alive.

“Delayed contracts are not the creation of the NCDMB nor are the making of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). It is largely caused by the simple reason that people have to go to far-flung places to get goods and services.

“The decision to give a job is influenced by the availability of satisfying technical requirements. But the question is that how is that determined when the equipment is not even available in Nigeria? Most times people have to go on inspection of all of these abroad and take a decision on owns it. The real fundamental decision on ownership on where equipment is manufactured, by who is most crucial. But by the grace of God, if we succeed in what we are doing which is ensuring that most of the equipment are manufactured here in Nigeria, we will be in a position to embark on inspection on the quality of products on time and the process of taking real ownership of the manufacturing chain will then be ours.

“Our target is to have three to four pipe mills in the Nigeria between now and the next five years. It is only then that we can take real ownership of the processes here in Nigeria and thus empower our people to raise their stakes in the oil and gas industry.”

Nwapa also stressed the need for communities where oil is explored to have more stakes saying industry operators must engender means through which community members would be made aware of the existing opportunities inherent in the industry.

“Although this is a Nigerian Content, it is necessary to have community focus. This is the main essence of having the Nigerian Content in the first place. We have to continue to create the awareness so that people in the oil producing communities will know more about the existing opportunities, methods and ways of participating in the process.

“The way the industry was run from the capital cities of the country had exposed people living in those urban capitals to the business more than the communities where the product is being extracted. But that is changing as evidence in the Nigerian Content law.

“We must appreciate the fact that the change we desire cannot be achieved over a very short period of time. We are engaging young companies in the process now regularly and I am happy to inform that the local companies are beginning to raise their ante in the industry. Nevertheless it takes time to see and feel the impacts of government policies.

“Government cannot in one step stop people who are already participating there. In creating this opportunities we must first of all create the necessary awareness for Nigerians to know the kinds of opportunities in the industry and then know how to participate,” he explained.

The NCDMB boss added that the days when foreigners come into Nigeria, make money and spirit the money away are over, saying, “we must tie employment generation of our people to oil business in the country. We will no longer seat by and watch job opportunities that should go to our people elude them.”

He also emphasised that conducting trainings without providing jobs is not good enough adding that going forward, to qualify to play in the industry, companies have to demonstrate to the Board in clear and concrete terms that they are running an employment generation company.

He stated that the recently signed agreement between the Board and Petroleum Technologists Association of Nigeria (PETAN) is expected to add pep to the job creation efforts.

He added, “the most focal and feasible set of people in the sector that can generate jobs and create opportunities for local communities are the PETAN members. That is the reason we signed a memorandum of understanding with them on this initiative.

“Most companies, who bid for these lots are PETAN members and we believe that having them on board will increase the chance of success of this initiative. We have designed the MoU is such a way that companies would employ people and place them on tutelage programme and the Board would start training programmes for these new set of employees. This means that the employees are trained in readiness for contract take-off.

“So, instead of waiting for the project to be awarded first and workers are taken on board as trainees during the project, we have turned that around by training the workers first and then fix them as already trained workers during the project proper.

“We plan to work with the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) on this project. We believe that the PTDF would be an interested party in this new initiative because we are looking at how we use the trainees that have been trained in the industry.”