The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) said on Wednesday that it would spend more than N10 billion on the construction of its proposed headquarters building in Yenagoa.
The board said the 17-storey complex would be a state-of-the-art edifice that would accommodate 1,500 staff when completed.
The NCDMB executive secretary, Ernest Nwakpa, said this during a forum between the board and the Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream) led by Paulker Emmanuel, in Yenagoa.
Nwakpa also said nine zonal offices would be set up.
He told the committee that three years after the board commenced regulatory, development and monitoring activities, about 70 percent to 87 percent Nigerian content value in contracts awarded in the oil and gas industry had been recorded.
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He decried the fact that Nigeria had hitherto depended on the importation of industrial equipment, facilities and related component parts.
He said the board was focused on more “in-country value” for companies operating in the country.
Nwakpa said, “These will create employment opportunities for Nigerians. The idea is that some components must be manufactured in Nigeria.
“The board is working, according to the local content law, and in line with President Goodluck Jonathan’s transformation agenda and the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
“We are an agency of government that regulates, develops and monitors activities of international oil companies (IOCs) and also build capacities.”
He, however, said that the board was facing challenges of inadequate appropriation to support administration of local content.
