ES NCDMB, Wabote wins African Local Content Icon Award
By Eyo Nsima
Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has been selected for the African Local Content Icon Award by the 2021 African Business Leadership Awards (ABLA) organized by the African Leadership Magazine.
The award has 12 categories and the winners emerged through selection, online voting for nominees and the editorial board’s review of the nominations and votes to decide the winners.
Other winners from Nigeria include Mr. Segun Ogunsanya, Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Africa, who emerged African Business Leader of the year; Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Governor, Lagos State – Business Friendly Governor of the year; Mr. Benedict Peters, Chief Executive Officer, Aiteo Group, who is selected as African Chief Executive Officer of the year and Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC), which was picked for the African CSR & Community Development Impact Award.
Wabote who was first appointed in September 2016 by President Muhammadu Buhari and reappointed in September 2020 has recorded several landmark accomplishments locally and championed the development of Local Content across the continent and provided guidance to a number of African countries on the implementation of Local Content policies in their jurisdictions.
Under his watch, NCDMB recently hosted the African Local Content Roundtable in partnership with the African Petroleum Producers Association (APPO) and he canvassed for the establishment of an African Local Content Bank that could provide funding for the development of oil and gas projects in Africa.
He also led NCDMB to institute the Nigerian Content 10-Year Strategic Roadmap, with one of the pillars being Sectorial and Regional Market Linkage, intended to extend Local Content across the African continent and ensure access to market for capacities that have been developed locally.
The Executive Secretary is a recipient of several international and local awards, including a global award conferred by the organizers of African Oil Week (AOW) in November 2018 for his outstanding contributions to sustainable local content development in Nigeria and across Africa’s Oil and Gas Industry.
He was also honoured in August 2019 as the Transformational Business Leader in Public Sector in 2019 by the Business Leadership Awards and bagged the Local Content Development Achievement Award from the Oil and Gas Trainers Association (OGTAN) in April 2018 in recognition of the remarkable achievements he led the Board to record in less than two years of his assumption of duty.
The African Business Leadership Awards attracted over 300, 000 entries on the magazine’s website and across social media platforms, as well as submissions via email and physical posts from Africans across the continent and in Diaspora.
All winners and their runners-up shall be presented with an award trophy at the 6th Invest in Africa Summit that will be held virtually on September 16 – 17, 2021, under the theme of Africa 4.0: Redefining Growth, Sustainability, and Innovation.
The Publisher of African Leadership Magazine, Dr. Ken Giami, while unveiling the list of winners, affirmed that each nominee is worthy of recognition and commendation for their selfless services to nation-building.
He stated that the 2021 Africa Business Leadership Award (ABLA) celebrates grit, purpose, and impact in Africa’s business environment, especially in what continues to be a difficult period for most people due to the impact of coronavirus.
He further added that the leaders who have emerged winners in the various categories have exhibited these celebrated attributes in admirable capacities and are deserving of great accolade.
