By David Owei

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has underscored Nigeria’s growing attractiveness as a destination for oil and gas investments, highlighting recent policy reforms and Nigerian content initiatives that have helped secure major industry projects and investment commitments.

The General Manager, Corporate Communications, Dr. Obinna Ezeobi, delivered this message on Wednesday at a Strategic Leadership Roundtable Briefing held at the ADIPEC Energy Conference in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where he represented the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe.

The high-level roundtable, themed “Delivering the Energy the World Needs: Recalibrating Upstream Projects,” brought together 21 global industry leaders to discuss critical issues shaping the future of the energy industry, with a focus on investments, project delivery, financing, and sustainable growth.

During his presentation, Dr. Ezeobi outlined NCDMB’s core mandate of developing Nigerian human and material capacities, ensuring compliance with the provisions of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, as well as enabling investments across the Nigerian oil and gas sector.

He noted that Nigeria’s oil and gas industry has attracted international oil and gas investments and projects valued at over $10 billion within the past three years, attributing this achievement to targeted Executive Orders and strategic incentives introduced by the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The final investment decisions (FIDs) he said, were also enabled by policy reforms implemented by key agencies like the NCDMB, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd). These reforms have significantly enhanced investor confidence and improved the competitiveness of the Nigerian energy sector, he added.

Dr. Ezeobi noted that NCDMB’s sustained engagement and partnership with key industry stakeholders, particularly operating companies, were equally instrumental in achieving recent Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) and advancing major investments across the sector.

Among the Board’s key initiatives that revitalised the sector, he cited the revised Nigerian Content Contracting Guidelines, which have streamlined project approval processes, as well as the Nigerian Content Equipment Certificate (NCEC) Guidelines. The latter is designed to eliminate the participation of non-performing intermediary companies in industry operations while enabling Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to provide services directly for deepwater projects.

He invited international operating and service companies to the Nigerian oil and gas, assuring that “NCDMB will continue to support an environment in which international investments thrive alongside Nigerian enterprise, where technology transfer leads to stronger domestic capability and major projects create opportunities for local manufacturing, and value addition and companies can compete beyond our borders.”

The Nigerian delegation to the roundtable included the Managing Director of NNPC E&P Limited, Mr. Nicolas Foucart, and the Managing Director of NNPC 18 Operating Limited, Ms. Ibiyemi Asaolu.

Discussions at the forum also examined investment opportunities, strategies for navigating complex operating environments, and approaches to supporting long-term industry growth and economic development. Participants recommended practical measures to diversify upstream financing, accelerate field assessments, strengthen project delivery mechanisms, increase hydrocarbon recovery, and build a more resilient energy future.

The ADIPEC Strategic Leadership Roundtable provided an important platform for global energy leaders to exchange insights and develop collaborative solutions aimed at meeting rising energy demand while ensuring sustainable industry development.

NCDMB had set up an exhibition booth at the 2026 ADIPEC Conference, and used the platform to explain local content processes to global stakeholders, engage and attract potential investors to the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

The Honorable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, accompanied by Chairman of PETAN, Engr. Wole Ogunsanya were some of the key Nigerian stakeholders that visited NCDMB’s exhibition booth at the event.

The Minister challenged the Board to partner with key agencies of the Nigerian oil and gas industry to stage an imposing showcase at major oil and gas conferences and positively project the Nigerian oil and gas industry as an attractive investment destination.

By Emmanuel oko,Asaba

A total of 175 cases of inmates at the Sapele Custodial Centre have been reviewed by the Chief Judge of Delta State, Hon. Justice Tessy Diai, with no inmate discharged or granted bail.

The Chief Judge, who made the disclosure at the Sapele Custodial Centre during the Fourth Quarter Jail Delivery exercise, said 194 cases of inmates were on the main list.

She noted that out of the 194 cases, 53 cases had already been disposed of before the visit, leaving 143 on the main list, in addition to 33 cases on her supplementary list.

Justice Diai said the low number of releases may be due to the number of inmates that have already been convicted.

The Chief Judge commended the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the courts for working hard to ensure that trials are done within the timeline, stressing that if any inmate has a case to answer, the DPP would notify the lower courts.

In his welcome address, the Officer-in-Charge of Sapele Custodial Centre, Mr. O. M. Ugo (DCC), thanked the Chief Judge for her regular visits to custodial centres in the State.

He said such visits have helped to check overcrowding in facilities, especially in Sapele.

Ugo disclosed that Sapele Custodial Centre has a capacity of 293 inmates, but as at today, it holds 318 inmates, consisting of 315 males and 3 females indicating overcrowding by 25 inmates.

Giving a further breakdown, he said 147 are convicted inmates while 171 are unconvicted inmates awaiting trial.

He thanked Justice Diai for her sustained commitment to decongestion and speedy administration of Justice

By Abubakar Yaro,Kebbi.

The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has entered into a strategic partnership with the Sultan Foundation for Peace and Development to mobilise traditional institutions, religious leaders, parents and community stakeholders towards tackling Nigeria’s growing out-of-school children challenge.

The partnership, formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in Argungu, Kebbi State, is designed to strengthen grassroots participation in basic education and improve school enrolment, attendance and retention across the country.

The initiative, known as the Advancing Basic Education Partnership Programme (AGE), seeks to leverage the influence of traditional rulers and religious institutions to encourage parents and communities to prioritise formal education, particularly for girls and children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The agreement was signed by the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, on behalf of the Sultan Foundation for Peace and Development, while UBEC’s Deputy Executive Secretary, Dr. Abdulrazaq Akinyemi, signed on behalf of the Executive Secretary, Dr. Aisha Garba.

The partnership aligns with the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and reflects efforts to address barriers preventing millions of Nigerian children from accessing basic education.

Under the arrangement, both organisations will collaborate to identify out-of-school children, intensify community sensitisation, promote school enrolment and strengthen mechanisms for monitoring attendance and retention.

A major component of the programme is the integration of Qur’anic and non-formal education pathways into broader basic education strategies, with a view to creating opportunities for children whose educational experiences have largely remained outside the conventional school system.

The initiative will also encourage traditional rulers, religious leaders and community stakeholders to engage parents on the importance of educating their children and ensuring that enrolled pupils remain in school.

As part of efforts to address the economic challenges confronting vulnerable households, UBEC is also implementing interventions that include the provision of educational materials and scholarship opportunities for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The measures are intended to reduce the financial and social barriers that often prevent children from enrolling in or completing basic education.

The programme will commence with pilot implementation in Adamawa, Katsina, Sokoto and Osun States, with plans for possible expansion to other parts of the country following an assessment of its implementation and impact.

Speaking on the significance of the partnership, the organisations emphasised the importance of collective responsibility in addressing the out-of-school children crisis, noting that government interventions alone cannot achieve sustainable results without the active participation of parents, communities and traditional institutions.

The involvement of the Sultan Foundation is expected to strengthen community ownership of the initiative, particularly through the traditional and religious leadership structures that play influential roles in shaping public attitudes towards education.

The partnership comes amid continuing national concerns over the number of Nigerian children who are either out of school or unable to complete basic education, with girls and children in vulnerable communities facing additional challenges.

For UBEC, the collaboration represents an effort to move beyond policy commitments by taking education advocacy directly to households and communities where decisions about children’s schooling are made.

Ultimately, the success of the initiative will depend on effective coordination, sustained community engagement and measurable improvements in school enrolment, attendance and retention.

The partnership reinforces the principle that educating Nigerian children is not the responsibility of government alone, but a shared obligation involving traditional institutions, religious leaders, parents and the wider society.