The Managing Director, Bank of Industry (BoI), Olukayode Pitan, has commended the upgrade of Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCI Fund) for players in the oil and gas industry from $100 million to $200 million.

Pitan said the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has increased the funds lent to qualified oil and gas players under the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCI Fund) from $100 million to $200 million. This is to ensure that more companies including the nine oil producing companies benefit from this loan, he added.

He spoke during the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Abuja, assuring that the fund will be used judiciously.

“The loans disbursed by BoI are single digit interest, and the bank intends to sensitise the people on how to access this loan through regular workshop. Loans given out will not exceed $10million with interest rate of eight per cent. BoI has presence in 21 states of the federation and is well positioned to support the Board achieve its objectives in effective loans disbursement and management for the oil and gas industry.

“BoI will work with NCDMB to source additional pool of funds for this vital sector of the economy. The NCI Fund is sourced from the statutory NCDF, which is funded from one per cent that is deducted from the value of all upstream contracts. The NCDF is underpinned by Section 104 of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, which provides that the funds be used for developing capacity in the oil and gas industry.

“Subsection 3 of Section 104 also provides that “the fund shall be managed by the Nigerian Content Development Board and employed for projects, programmes and activities directed at increasing Nigerian Content in the oil and gas industry.”

The Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Simbi Wabote, said community contractors in the oil and gas industry will only pay five percent interest rate when they access the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCI Fund), adding that such contractors execute small scale projects and would not pay the same interest rate like conventional oil and gas service companies.

The concession for community contractors is in line with the Board’s Community Content Guideline and provisions of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act. The intent is to promote the participation of genuine community contractors in oil and gas projects and integration of communities in the industry value chain as part of the strategy to grow the local economy and promote peace and tranquility in the communities, he added.