By Sandra Chukwunyere
As part of efforts to strengthen knowledge sharing and improve collaboration among its staff and stakeholders in the oil and gas industry, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has launched the LearnFest Lecture Series.
According to a statement signed by Dr. Obinna Ezeobi, General Manager, Corporate Communications Division, NCDMB, the lecture series was inaugurated on Thursday, September 25, 2026, at the Board’s headquarters in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
The three-hour programme, attended by staff at the corporate headquarters, was designed to give employees a better understanding of the various directorates, divisions and departments within the Board, their responsibilities and how they work together to achieve the organisation’s objectives.
LearnFest is an initiative of the Nigerian Content Academy (NCA), the specialised training and knowledge-sharing arm of the NCDMB.
The Academy explained that knowledge within the Board is spread across seven directorates, each with its own mandate, processes, responsibilities and areas of expertise.
It stressed the need for greater interaction among the different units, noting that knowledge sharing would help reduce departmental silos and promote better collaboration across the organisation.
According to the Academy, LearnFest is designed to help staff understand “how everything fits together”, including the Board’s mandate, institutional processes, practices, culture and working relationships.
“When we understand what others do, we collaborate better, support one another better, and work as one integrated ecosystem,” it said.
Speaking at the launch, the Director, Capacity Building Directorate, Engr. Abayomi Bamidele, said the lecture series was introduced to deepen understanding of Nigerian Content tools and processes among NCDMB staff and stakeholders in the oil and gas industry.
He said industry operators and other stakeholders needed to have a clear understanding of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act 2010 and the various requirements guiding its implementation.
According to him, these include the NCDMB Guidelines for Nigerian Content Human Capital Development Implementation Strategy, Nigerian Content Compliance Certificate (NCCC), Nigerian Content Plan (NCP), statutory reporting requirements and expatriate quota matters.
“LearnFest will make our work easier,” Bamidele said.
He disclosed that oil and gas operators, service companies, industry associations such as the Oil and Gas Trainers Association of Nigeria (OGTAN), academic institutions and ministries, departments and agencies had expressed interest in sending their personnel to the Nigerian Content Academy for specialised training.
Bamidele said the Academy was also building a faculty and that the lecture series would help prepare the ground for the full commencement of its training programmes.
He explained that some of the resource persons delivering the lectures could eventually form part of the Academy’s faculty, while participants would provide feedback on their suitability for such roles.
He also disclosed that NCDMB management had approved the use of its purpose-built facility at Opolo, along the Opolo-Elebele Road in Yenagoa, as a training centre for the Nigerian Content Academy.
The first lecture was delivered by the Manager, Planning and Policy Development Department, Engr. Mofe Megbele, who spoke on “Understanding the Activities and Processes of the Planning, Research and Statistics Directorate.”
His presentation covered the operating framework for Planning, Research and Statistics, the Planning and Policy Development Department, expatriate quota, inter-directorate and division relations, research and development programmes, technology commercialisation and innovation, R&D infrastructure, NOGIC JQS user communication, NCCF objectives, e-Marketplace and stakeholder engagement.
Megbele explained that the Planning, Research and Statistics Directorate comprises two major divisions: the Planning and Policy Development Division and the Research and Statistics Development Division, both headed by General Managers.
He said the Planning and Policy Development Department was established in September 2018 under Section 70 of the NOGICD Act and is responsible for developing policies and guidelines for internal and external stakeholders, as well as monitoring their implementation.
The LearnFest Lecture Series will hold monthly over the next nine months, with a different directorate of the Board featured at each edition.
Attendance, both online and in person, is mandatory for all NCDMB staff, while other oil and gas industry stakeholders will be invited to participate in subsequent editions.
