The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has said it is instituting a $50 million intervention fund in support of Research and Development (R&D) in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
The fund which would be officially set up at the forthcoming 2020 R&D fair and conference would be in line with the commitment of the board to change the narrative in research and development activities in the oil and gas industry with the implementation of the R&D framework.
The Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Mr. Simbi Wabote, was quoted in a statement as disclosing this during the flag-off of the R&D fair and conference Roadshow in Abuja before the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva.
Wabote, who enumerated the achievements of the maiden edition of the R&D Fair in 2017, explained that the board intends to develop an R&D specialised centre in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, with a model to convert ideas to products.
He further explained that the $50 million R&D intervention fund was a product of the board’s proof of leadership to enhance the role of R&D in developing local content and for other stakeholders to contribute to the fund, pointing out that most countries who had invested in R&D were optimal in their Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Meanwhile, Wabote, has called for collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force towards improving the operations in the oil and gas industry, stressing that security was critical to the oil and gas operations.
The executive secretary made the call during a courtesy visit to the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Adamu, at the Force Headquarters in Abuja, recently.
He explained that the visit was necessitated by the need to foster collaboration between the Police in safeguarding lives and infrastructure within the board’s operational areas.
According to him, “the Police Commissioner in Bayelsa has provided tremendous support in terms of security in the past, and we are here to ask for more security support for staff and critical infrastructures”.
He reassured the Police of NCDMB’s support in the areas of security equipment and human capacity building which, he said, the board can collaborate with the police for.
Responding, Adamu expressed appreciated the board for the visit while commending Wabote for the great achievements made so far by the board, assuring the NCDMB of the force’s unalloyed security support to enable it maximally perform its core mandate.
