By Yange Ikyaa
The Executive Secretary of Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Simbi Kesiye Wabote, has lamented that indigenous Nigerian petroleum companies have failed to adequately develop human capital to sustain production, even at a time that international oil companies are divesting and leaving the country.
Wabote made the case during a speech at the ongoing Nigerian Oil and Gas Energy Week at the International Conference Centre in Abuja.
“What worries me a lot is that the international oil companies have invested a lot in training their staff, including me. Now all of them are divesting and they are divesting their assets and moving offshore alongside some of their staff, but those staff are not growing younger; they are aging, and then local companies are not investing in capacity development.” the NCDMB Boss lamented.
Wabote also stated that “somewhere along the line, I see a situation where irrespective of what you say; you want to increase production; where is the manpower?
“Who are the people who are going to take over from some of us who are approaching 60 or even those who are 70 but are still working because the companies cannot find the young people with the requisite skills?”
He concluded that Nigerian companies must invest in building human capacity of the young ones who can take over production. If not, production will continue to nosedive every year.