The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has unveiled a compliance certificate portal, a payment system to boost efficiency and ensure global competitiveness in the country’s oil and gas industry.
The compliance certificate portal which is part of a broader move to align with the national vision for ease of doing business, digital transformation and accountability in contract administration.
Felix Ogbe, executive secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board gave the advice during stakeholders sensitisation programme in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital which also featured the unveiling of the Nigerian Content fund Compliance Certificate Portal that attracted stakeholders including contractors in the oil and gas industry from the state and beyond.
‘I encourage all stakeholders to embrace this platform, because its success depends not just on its design but on our collective adoption and engagement,’ the board stated.
‘The Nigerian Content Fund Compliance Certificate is a vital requirement in our industry.
The Nigerian oil and gas industry content development Act specifies that the sum of one percent of every contract awarded to any operator, contractor, sub-contractor, alliance partner or any entity involved in any project, operation, activity, or transaction in the upstream of the Nigerian oil and gas industry shall be deducted at source and paid into the fund,’ he stated.
proof of compliance, ‘the key that unlocks access to the fund and assurance that obligations are being met in line with national development goals.’
Emmanuel Yusuf, the board’s fund manager, noted that over the years, the fund had been transformative adding that Nigerian content has risen to over 60 percent, an indication that more value, jobs and expertise now reside within the industry.
He explained that more than $400m has supported over 130 indigenous companies, addressing the critical access to finance and strategic initiatives in the oil industry.
According to him, in the past, compliance confirmation was handled manually adding that companies submitted physical documents, waited for verification and endured delays that often stretched into weeks thus slowing project approvals, creating uncertainty and limited transparency for regulators and investors.
He said that with the launch of the portal, compliance would become faster, simpler and more transparent as the portal would cut certificate processing time from week to days while allowing online applications without physical visits or paperwork.
Yusuf maintained that with the launch of the platform, Nigeria was ready with evolving systems with the oil and gas industry becoming more competitive on the global stage.
The forum provided a platform for questions and answers on the benefits of the portal, a panel discussion session and a demonstration of access to the Nigerian Content intervention fund.