Former President Goodluck Jonathan has expressed his sense of fulfilment at the enactment of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, 2010, and the many benefits that have accrued to Nigeria at the national and community levels, since the emergence of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), that has over time assumed the critical role of business enabler.
He recalled the enthusiasm and promptness with which he signed the NOGICD Bill into law in April 2010, stating that the inspiration came from a visit to China as head of a trade delegation to that country during his days as deputy governor of Bayelsa State (December 2005-May 2007).
Key Highlights:
- Goodluck Jonathan hailed the impact of the NOGICD Act and the NCDMB on Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
- He said China’s local content success inspired him to sign the law in 2010.
- Jonathan lamented Nigeria’s past reliance on foreign expertise and equipment.
- He praised NCDMB for promoting local participation and industry growth.
- He also called for continued dialogue on community issues and oil sector reforms.
“Almost everything used in the Chinese oil industry was sourced locally,” he disclosed, noting how China became a major global player in oil and gas after the massive discovery of crude oil at the Daqing Oilfield in the northeastern Heilongjiang Province in 1959, three years after a similar discovery in Otuabagi, OloibiriDistrict, of present-day Ogbia Local Government Area in Bayelsa State.
The former president spoke at the SweetCrude Dialogue 2026, with the theme: “Through the Python’s Eye: 70 Years of Oil and Gas Production,” which held the Local Content Towers in Swali, Yenagoa, Bayelsa.
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He said that the China experience set him wondering why the case of Nigeria in that sector was so completely different,” he reflected, as he returned to Nigeria, profoundly upset over the enormous economic losses arising from near-total dependence on foreign expertise, equipment, machinery, production inputs, and technology, among other things.
Jonathan commended the NCDMB for its successes and the organisers of the Dialogue, De Mangrove Conversations, led by Mr. Biobele Da-Wariboko, for the concept and the zeal that had brought them thus far.
“Bringing people from all walks of life to have a conversation on the oil and gas industry is critical,” he noted, pointing out that community issues and what he termed ‘state dilemma’ demand careful attention even as the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), 2020, has made appreciable impact.
