PETAN AT SIGNING CEREMONY OF MoA ON WORKING CAPITAL SCHEME BETWEEN NCDMB AND NEXIM BANK IN ABUJA.
These are images from the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Agreement on Working Capital between the Nigerian Content Development & Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and Nigerian Export-Import (NEXIM) Bank which held earlier today at the NCDMB Office in Abuja.
PETAN Chairman, Mr. Nicolas Odinuwe was at the ceremony to witness the signing along with his counterparts from the Oil and Gas Trainers Association (OGTAN), Mazi Sam Onyechi and Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS), Mr. Joseph Ofili who represent the Nigerian Oil Service Providers who make up targets for the intervention schemes which offer loans for capacity building, invoice discounting, acquisition of low-end equipment and assets for execution of oil and gas contract services.
In his brief remarks, Mr. Odinuwe thanked all parties for their efforts, adding that as a critical stakeholder in the oil and gas industry, PETAN, which is the largest and foremost advocacy group for indigenous oil and gas service companies in Nigeria, is happy that the stated loans will give traction to the sustainability of Local Content in the industry and country at large.
Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Wabote said that the USD 30 million Working Capital & Capacity Building Fund boosted by matching funds by NEXIM Bank and the USD 20 million Women in Oil and Gas Intervention Fund were developed by the NCDMB to further grow Nigerian Content and increase local capacity of Nigerian Oil Service Providers whose operations were devastated by the effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic. While thanking President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva and the NEXIT Bank for making the milestone event a reality, he assured that the Board would carry out periodic audits to ensure that the finds were judiciously utilised and that defaulters would be held liable as the loans does not constitute free money.
In his remarks, the Managing Director of the NEXIM Bank, Mr. Abba Bello said that the involvement of the bank was to help stimulate and build capacities in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry which provides over 50% of Nigeria’s GDP and make them competitive among other oil economies and African countries.
