The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has organised a capacity-building workshop for media stakeholders in Anambra State to strengthen local content reporting and improve public awareness of opportunities in the oil and gas industry.
The training, held in Awka, the state capital, focused on enhancing the media’s role in promoting Nigeria’s local content policy and informing citizens about opportunities in the sector.
Anambra was selected as the venue in recognition of its position as the third-highest oil-producing state in the South-East, with a reported crude oil output of about 3,000 barrels per day.
Speaking at the event, the General Manager of Corporate Communications at the NCDMB, Dr. Obinna Ezeobi, stressed the importance of ensuring that residents of Anambra State understand the opportunities available in the oil and gas industry.
He identified the opportunities as including training programmes, employment, skills development and empowerment initiatives provided under the Nigerian Content policy.
Ezeobi described the media as a critical stakeholder in promoting public awareness and driving the implementation of the policy.
He observed that inadequate media engagement had contributed to the failure of some government programmes and policies in the past.
The NCDMB official expressed confidence that a stronger partnership with the media would enable Anambra State to benefit more from the oil and gas industry, stimulate economic growth, create jobs and accelerate development across the state.
In his remarks, the Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Mazi Sam Onyechi, represented by the Director of Planning, Research and Statistics, Mr. Omomehin Ajimijaye, said the Board’s activities were not restricted to any particular region but extended across the country.
He explained that the Board had programmes and projects nationwide and encouraged young people in Anambra State to explore opportunities available through its online portal, including training initiatives and opportunities to submit project proposals.
The Commissioner for Information and Value Reformation in Anambra State, Dr. Law Mefor, commended the NCDMB for selecting the state to host the media capacity-building workshop.
However, Mefor expressed concern that Anambra had yet to benefit fully from opportunities in the local content sector and called on the Board to address the perceived imbalance.
The workshop attracted media practitioners from various organisations across the state, alongside stakeholders in the oil and gas industry.
The engagement is expected to strengthen collaboration between the NCDMB and the media in promoting awareness of local content opportunities and encouraging greater participation by individuals and businesses in Anambra State.
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