Engr. Wabote: Garlands for local content czar

[From CHRIS EZE, Yenagoa]

Friday, September 24, 2021 would remain evergreen in the minds of the management and staff of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), a parastatal under the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources.

On this day, the management of the Content Board hosted the Editorial Board of the African Leadership Magazine, a United Kingdom based international magazine which focuses on spotlighting major developments and achievements by personalities within the African continent.

The magazine led by Mr. Kingsley Okeke, Managing Editor, was at the corporate headquarters of the NCDMB in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State to honour the Executive Secretary of the Content Board, Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote, with the ‘African Local Content Icon Award’ for his strides in promoting local content in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria and beyond.

The event which took place at the 1000-seater auditorium of the 17 storey NCDMB Towers had the presence of the top management staff of the board, departmental heads, union leaders, stakeholders, members of the media, among others.

It was indeed a unique day for ES as the Executive Secretary is fondly called. From one speaker to another, all described the ES in varying adjectives to showcase the kind of personality he is and the excellent administrative and managerial acumen he has and exemplifies.

Paul Zuhumbar who spoke on behalf of the General Managers waxed lyrical as he extolled the qualities of Engr. Wabote, describing him as a rare gift to the NCDMB.

 chairman of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, (PENGASSAN), branch of NCDMB, Comrade Bright Amatoro in his goodwill message also applauded the leadership style of Wabote which he noted has ensured industrial harmony at the board.

On her part, Mrs. Khadijah Jakeme who spoke for the female staff of the board eulogized the Executive Secretary’s gender sensitive posture, stressing that the ES graciously approved a $40 million fund for female entrepreneurs in the oil and gas sector.

Patrick Obah, Director, Planning, Research and Statistics, who spoke for the Directors in the board described Wabote as a shining example, a workaholic and a role model for all staff of the board.

 The Director spoke with so much passion about the ES that the compeer at the occasion was forced to signal him that he had exceeded his time, but he could not budge!  

The climax of the event was the presentation of the African Local Content Icon Award by the Editorial Team of the African Leadership Magazine to the Executive Secretary.

Managing Editor of the Magazine, Mr. Kingsley Okeke, noted that the process leading to the selection was transparent and independently conducted with nominations across the African continent.

He said; “We found in the accomplishment and achievements of the Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, a worthy character we should encourage and export to the rest of Africa.

“Our focus at the magazine is to spotlight on the positive developments in African continent and change the narrative and stereotype by Western media”.

Mrs. Laura Hall, President-elect of the National Black Caucus of United States Congressmen who performed presentation of the award said that the blacks in the United States who the Black Caucus represent also has a similar challenge with building local capacity to compete with their white counterparts in executing contracts in the United States.

She said the caucus would collaborate and share ideas with the NCDMB on ways to increase the capacities of blacks in the United States.

In his acceptance speech, Engr. Wabote challenged Africa to wake up to the reality of the revolutionary and positive changes which local content holds for the continent.

He lamented the situation facing Africa in the wake of the Covid 19 pandemic where the continent is going cap in hand begging the developed nations for vaccines because the continent cannot yet afford any vaccine locally.

Wabote noted that the Nigerian Content policy being implemented in the ongoing Train 7 of the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) project has saved the country a whopping $ 2 billion by patronizing Nigerian firms.

The Executive Secretary who dismissed the assertion that the Nigerian Content Policy was costly as a ploy by foreign interests who do not wish the country to develop described the position as a blackmail pointing out that experience has shown that the policy was more cost effective for oil firms.

“The Nigerian Content Policy saves cost, from the projects that the NCDMB have supervised, it is clear that it is better for the International Operating Companies in Nigeria, but foreign interests at global levels erroneously say that local content is expensive.

“Before the move to increase the participation of Nigerians in the oil and gas sector, the participation was at about three per cent and previous administrations relied mostly on taxes and revenue and lost sight of the opportunities for Nigerians to get involved in the sector.

“From the oil sector where I am coming from, it is five times more expensive to pay an expatriate than a Nigerian, so how can they say that local content is more expensive?

“On the Train 7 project if you look at the cost provided by foreign companies, you have a wide gap of about $ 2 billion from the quotations of the lowest submitted by foreign firms and the highest from Nigerian companies, so local content is better as we ensure that quality is not compromised.

“From 2010 till now, we have come a long way. For instance, NLNG had 90 per cent of the workforce as expatriates, but today 90 per cent of the workers are Nigerians and today you have Nigerians occupying top positions in foreign oil firms.

“I am thankful to President Muhammadu Buhari who gave me the opportunity to practice local content in the public sector by appointing me in 2016 and reappointing me in 2020,” Wabote appreciated.

On the African Local Content Icon Award bestowed on him, the ES said that it came to him as a ‘pleasant surprise’ adding that the ideals of the African Leadership Magazine justified his decision to accept the award.

“I had no clue at all that the award was coming my way and that was the more reason I accepted the award”, he noted, and dedicated it to his family who watched the proceedings virtually from the United States of America.

Engr. Wabote holds an MSC from Leeds Metropolitan University and is a graduate of Civil Engineering from Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt as well as a graduate of INSEAD Group Leadership Program.

He has very sound technical and business competencies with proficient skills in Engineering, Project management, Local content Strategic Development, Human Capacity Building, Government Relations and Stakeholders Management.

He is also a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, a COREN Registered Engineer and a member, Institute of Civil Engineers, London.

Born 2nd February, 1966, Engr. Wabote hails from Okpoma, Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.