…Certificate is evidence of remittance and compliance to the Board
-Felix Douglas
The Nigerian Content Developing and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) had a two-day sensitization programme bothering on compliance certificate systems, upgraded Nigeria Content Development Fund (NCDF), payment portal and revised community contractors finance system.
The Board revealed that the certificate was introduced as one of the measures to ensure compliance with section 104 of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act of 2010.
The certification process is automated to improve efficiency and transparency in order to reduce human and enable real time tracking of all activities. It is free; no payment is made to get the certificate. The process time for getting the certificate is 14 business days which is the maximum time. The documents that are required for processing the certificates are evidence of remittance and other documents are also listed. The validity period of the certificate is one year. It can be authenticated through two means. Firstly, it will have a unique ID and also a barcode provided so that the authenticity of the certificate can be determined. Secondly, is to enhance NCDMB payment platform.
The community contractor financing has a single obligor limit of 100 million naira, and the loan will be for a period of one year. The interest rate for the loan is 8% and only two requirements for accessing the loan which are ISO and a valid contract.
NEXIM oil and gas service support facility have basically three major products under it. Working capital, capacity building fund, both have funds up to $30 million.
The third product is women in oil and gas fund, which is $20 million. The loan has an interest rate of 5% for USD component and 8% for the Nigerian Naira component. It has a single obligor limit of $1 million for the dollar component and its equivalent in Naira. The processing time barring any delays or unforeseen circumstance is 21 days.
Financing oil and gas businesses in Nigeria by Bank of Industry (BoI) has total fund size of $300 million and there are several products under the fund. Asset acquisition is 8% with a single obligor limit of $10 million. Refinancing products is 8% per annum and a single obligor limit of 10 million naira. The contract financing products is 8% per annum and a single obligor limit of $5 million.
There have been 75 beneficiaries of the fund. The application process for getting the loan is basically through BoI portal. Funds below 5 million in Naira will take a period of 45 days barring any unforeseen circumstance while funds above 5 million take 90 days processing period. The requirement for loan with BoI is bank guarantee. There are other options for securing loan including treasury bills and government bonds.
The NOGAPS fund is essentially to support manufacturers who are interested in setting up factories at any of the sites in Bayelsa and Odukpani in Cross River State. Single obligor limit for NOGAPS fund is $3 million at an interest rate of 5% for US dollars and 9% for Nigerian naira.
There’s need to revise the process in order to enable contractors view remittances that were made on their behalf when they access own portals. Secondly, there is need for action point to provide a zoom link for other sensitization programs which will take place in Port Harcourt and Warri so that people in Lagos can also join the sensitization sessions.
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