On Thursday, Timipre Sylva, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Dr Nasir Sani-Gwarzo, launched the Nigerian Content Research and Development Fund and its council, which will guide the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board’s engagement in oil and gas research and development.
The second NCDMB Fair and Conference, held at the board’s corporate offices in Yenagoa, was officially opened by Sylva. He also inaugurated the NCDMB Technology Incubation Innovation Centre, which is housed within the Local Content Towers in Yenagoa, the capital of Bayelsa State.
The Technical Advisory Board, chaired by Patrick Obah, NCDMB’s Director of Planning, Research, and Statistics, had been established before the conference to facilitate transparent consideration of research funding requests.
The Minister announced a $50 million capital for the NCRDF, which will focus on four areas: research studies, commercialisation of research, construction of centres of excellence, and endowment of professorial chairs.
He stated that it would serve as a forum for idea generation, incubation, and acceleration of market-ready innovations. He urged industry players and youths around the country to use the centre to improve the adaption of existing solutions and come up with new ones to address the industry’s primary concerns.
In a statement, NCDMB’s Executive Secretary Engr. Simbi Wabote said the time had come for Nigeria to nurture its technology rather than being a wholesome consumer of other countries’ innovations and that the agency was focusing on research and development as one of the six parameters for the country’s long-term development.
He said: “The research and development fund is in fulfillment of the NCDMB mandate to achieve the target of 70 per cent Nigerian Content by 2027, and research and development is one of the key parameters for sustainable local content practice.”
The Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, was represented by his deputy, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, who praised the NCDMB for organising the conference and pledged the state government’s commitment to creating an enabling climate for businesses to prosper.
