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30 YEARS AFTER, NESTOIL CONTINUES TO LEAD INNOVATION IN LOCAL CONTENT
If the story of Nigerian local content will be told, the impacts of the Nestoil Group will be a recurring theme of any such discussion. This is because, since its entrance into the oil and gas sector in 1991, 19 years before the enactment of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content (NOGIC) 2010, all of its activities has been to grow the sector for the economic development of the country.
From a staff strength of about 10 persons when Nestoil started from a one-room office on Idumagbo Avenue on Lagos Island in 1991, after its founder Dr Ernest Azudialu-Obiejesi had decided to give up his trading business to chart a new course in his entrepreneurial journey – the Oil and Gas industry, it has grown into a conglomerate with more than 1,500 employees.
The Nestoil group now renders services across the Oil and Gas Pipeline Construction, Pressure Vessel Manufacturing, Civil Construction Works, Dredging, Horizontal Directional Drilling, Major Steel Fabrication, Aviation, Exploration & Production, Drilling, Engineering and Dry-Docking Services.
It would be recalled that when Azudialu-Obiejesi ventured into the Oil & gas industry, Local Content in the industry was still a fantasy. He saw the landscape move from a tranquil one to a stormy one with locals demanding more say in the mining of “black-gold”.
After nearly 20 years of literarily weathering the storm alone in an industry dominated by foreign service companies, the government finally signed the Nigeria Content Bill into law and set up the Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) as a watchdog to enforce compliance and protect the interest of local players in the industry. This has seen the emergence of new indigenous players in the Oil and Gas ecosystem. The Nestoil Group Chairman did not need an enabling law. He dared to thread where others had failed.
Leading Local Content with Innovation
With the reputation of creating novelty from challenges and which has been passed to all staff as the company culture, it wasn’t totally a thing of shock to observers when Nestoil -through one of its strategic business units, Neconde – announced the landmark Alternative Evacuation System (AES) to combat the incessant crude oil thefts and system shutdowns caused by vandalism.
In the last 47 years, oil-producing companies have used the 200km-long Trans Forcados Pipeline (TFP) in transporting crude oil to the Forcados Oil Terminal. However, frequent shutdowns due to vandalism and oil theft as well as technical challenges on the TFP have made many producers unable to meet export targets, with some of the crudes also stolen. This is what AET was created to address. This innovation was an accidental discovery due to one of the regular system shutdowns on the TFP that almost derailed the trajectory to grow their production to 60,000 barrels of oil per day, after crossing the 50,000-mark in February 2016.
Though the repairs eventually took 16 months before the pipeline could come on stream, the combination of technology, logistics and then resilience from the team made the AET possible which kept them in business.
This could have looked impossible during the conceptualization but the doggedness of the founder that is visible from top management to the last worker has earned the Nestoil brand the ‘’King of the Swamps’’ appellation. This came about due to past projects done exceedingly well.
One of such is the Shell Nembe-Cawthorne Channel Trunk Line Replacement Project (NCTL) project. This was the largest single pipeline construction under the SPDC Joint Ventures Asset Integrity Programme that replaced more than 1000km of deteriorated major pipelines and flowlines in Nigeria. The 97km Package A of this project was executed by Nestoil under the leadership of Dr Azudialu-Obiejesi. This project involved major construction in a harsh mangrove swamp terrain and traversed 3 cluster communities and hundred autonomous communities in both Bayelsa and Rivers state of Nigeria. Nestoil completed this project one month ahead of schedule without a single fatality. 99 per cent of the workforce in this project were Nigerians including the Project Manager. This pipeline can evacuate about 600,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
The Shell Kolo Creek Trunk Line (KCTL) Replacement Project is another project that validates the brand’s doggedness and innovation. This project, which is a first of its kind involved a method of pipeline installation that preserves the delicate natural environment of the Niger Delta. It is well known that the Niger Delta is an incredibly well-endowed ecosystem that contains one of the highest concentrations of biodiversity in addition to supporting abundant flora and fauna and more species of freshwater fish than any ecosystem in West Africa. The fact that this pipeline was laid by Nigerian engineers without disrupting this unique environment is quite remarkable.
One project that may have thoroughly tested Nestoil’s resolve to deliver at all times is the Obiafu, Obrikom, Oben (OB3) gas pipeline. The parts of the project Nestoil is working on are the swampy areas starting from Omoku, Rivers State to Delta State. The entire area goes underwater in the rainy season hampering work on the pipeline. Part of the Nestoil scope is to cross the 48-inch diameter pipeline under the bed of the River Niger for over two kilometers. This has never been done anywhere in Nigeria but Azudialu-Obiejesi is confident that despite setbacks, Nestoil will deliver on this project sooner rather than later.
The 48-inch diameter and 67-kilometre long gas pipeline is the largest gas pipeline in Nigeria and it’s expected to boost domestic gas supply by two billion standard cubic feet per day (bscf/d) when it begins operation.
The activities of Nestoil and its subsidiaries like Energy Works Technologies (EWT), IMPaC, B&Q Dredging, Hammakopp Consortium, Scorpio Drilling, Neconde Energy, Nesthak, Shipside Drydock, Gobowen E&P, and Century Power Generation Limited – in the energy ecosystem, has led observers to call it the local content success story.
The various well-equipped SBU’s, fuelled by the local content act, were created at different fora during the evolution of the oil and gas sector, according to Azudialu-Obiejesi, upon the identification of insightful business opportunities from needs that did not have readily available or sufficient in-country solutions.
Next 30 Years
The next 30 years will surely be more interesting as the company is set to proffer more workable solutions to the economic development of the country.
Through the execution of the various projects, the expertise and technical know-how of Nestoil and its staff have greatly improved that it is trusted by IOC’s and local partners to deliver on its mandate, no matter the tough terrain where the projects are located.
After nearly 30 years of running the business, Dr Azudialu-Obiejesi believes it is time to hand over to the next generation. His shoes may appear too large to fill but he disagrees. He says he has seen enough talents within his pool of employees that are driven by uncommon passion – a restless spirit seeking answers to Nigeria’s engineering and technology challenges, especially in the Oil and Gas industry.
More than ₦3 billion was targeted, but about ₦677 million reached the culprits, with recovery and prosecutions underway, reflecting how banks are responding to more sophisticated fraud risks.
Nigeria’s expanding digital banking sector is facing increasingly sophisticated fraud attempts, as financial institutions adapt to faster transactions and broader online services.
A recent case involving First City Monument Bank (FCMB), linked to fraudulent activity detected in December 2025, has drawn attention to how banks are responding to such incidents, with a focus on limiting exposure, recovering funds and working with law enforcement.
According to findings referenced in proceedings before the Lagos State Special Offences Court, the incident involved unauthorised transactions tied to a digital product. Early reports erroneously suggested more than ₦3 billion was lost. Subsequent clarification shows that over ₦3 billion was targeted, ₦2.4 billion was blocked and recovered, while ₦677 million got into the possession of the culprits. This outcome reflects the bank’s cyber security and monitoring capabilities, as well as improved collaboration among regulated financial institutions and with law enforcement agencies. Several suspects and beneficiaries have been apprehended, while recovery and prosecution efforts are ongoing, led by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Proceedings at the Lagos State Special Offences Court have resulted in convictions, including that of a repeat offender, with restitution orders issued. Related matters are also being handled at the Federal High Court in Lagos, where additional suspects are being tried in connection with the scheme. This process is aimed at ensuring that bad actors are identified and permanently blacklisted from the financial system.
Authorities say recovery efforts are continuing as additional funds are traced.
Analysts note that the pace of legal action reflects closer coordination between financial institutions and enforcement agencies in addressing cyber-related financial crime.
The case comes as banks contend with more complex fraud methods, including social engineering and automated exploitation of system processes.
As digital products and platforms expand, so too does the risk associated with cyber-crime and related fraud.
“The scale of digital banking means risks are evolving alongside the systems,” said a Lagos-based financial analyst. “Institutions are now judged by how they manage these events.”
Observers say the sector is moving toward a stronger focus on response and recovery, rather than prevention alone.
This includes improving monitoring capabilities, strengthening transaction controls and enhancing collaboration with regulators and law enforcement. The FCMB case, with limited exposure relative to the amount targeted and ongoing recovery, reflects that shift.
For customers, the primary concern is the safety of their funds. In this case, there has been no indication of losses affecting customer deposits. Maintaining that level of protection remains central to sustaining trust in the financial system.
Nigeria’s financial sector continues to grow, supported by digital innovation and expanding access to banking services.
However, analysts say fraud attempts are likely to persist as systems become more complex and interconnected.
They say institutions will increasingly be judged not only on their ability to prevent incidents, but on how effectively they respond and recover when they occur.
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Ex-APC Deputy Guber flag bearer, Joshua MacIver backs Tinubu, express fears over implosion in Bayelsa APC
….congratulates new State Party Chairman, Warman Ogoriba
APC Deputy Governorship Candidate in the 2023 general elections in Bayelsa State, Great Joshua MacIver has declared his total commitment to the re-election of President Bola Tinubu come 2027, declaring that the Tinubu re-election project is non-negotiable.
Great Joshua MacIver, in his statement titled ” BAYELSA APC CONGRESSES: GOING FORWARD, A CALL TO LOOK INWARDS” and made available to newsmen in Yenagoa, warned APC leaders in the state to look Inward and take note of certain factors which may hinder or cut short our victory.
According to Great Joshua MacIver, such noticeable pitfalls include the imbalance in the united front being put up by the State Governor,Senator Douye Diri among various political blocs in the state.
In the statement issued at the weekend. Great Joshua MacIver stated that “First, before His Excellency, Senator Douye Diri, joined the APC in the state, there were clearly two political blocs that made up the party, with the approximate population ratios of the blocs standing at 95% to 5%.”
“After the entrance of His Excellency, Senator Douye Diri, ONLY THE SMALLER BLOC IS BEING CARRIED ALONG IN THE AFFAIRS OF THE PARTY, leaving the greater percentage to their fate, and this situation has the potential to build anger and dissatisfaction in our dear party.”
” The consequence of this has been the high level defection we have witnessed in the party recently and we believe more may likely follow, if we do not put our house in order.”
” If we do not pull together as a party, we may witness a situation where we will lose key stakeholders, especially after the State and National Assembly Primaries as well the Gubernatorial Primaries.”
“Finally, while it is very clear that we are the party to beat in the 2027 elections and that our loyalty to Mr. President IS NON-NEGOTIABLE, we must make haste to say that we cannot afford to create situations or loopholes in our unity which will be exploited by other political interests in the state. We cannot afford to under-rate anyone.”
“Our core interest remains the re-election of Mr. President, a project to which we have committed our all. We also pledge our total loyalty to the party as we have no alternative to the APC. However, our concern is that we must, as a party, look inwards and ensure that we do not create loopholes that can impede our common goal.”
Great Joshua MacIver, however congratulated the newly elected State Executives of the APC in Bayelsà State led by Hon. Warman Ogoriba, saying their emergence is welcomed at this critical time in our national history.
At least 23 people were killed in a series of suspected suicide bombings, police in Nigeria’s northeastern city of Maiduguri said on Tuesday.
https://www.stanbicibtcbank.com/nigeriabank/personal/products-and-services/all-loans/stanbic-ibtc-mreif-home-loans
More than 100 other people were injured in the blasts that took place on Monday evening in the capital of Nigeria’s restive Borno state.
No group has claimed responsibility for the suspected attacks.
The deadly blasts come after a military post was attacked overnight Sunday to Monday, which authorities blamed on suspected Islamist militants.
This sad incident is coming barely two weeks after Primate Elijah Ayodele, the Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church specifically warned against attacks in some states. He mentioned these states while calling on security operatives to pay close attention to them.
These were his words:
“Another attack is coming up in these following states where the military must watch carefully and intelligently; Kano, Kaduna, Zamfara, Kebbi, Niger, Borno, Kwara and Kogi state. They want to do a deadly attack, it’s preventable but it depends on how they will handle it. I have told you about the danger coming up.”
@primateayodele
Unfortunately, some of our military agencies don’t believe spiritual intelligence can save the country from so much danger hence, their neglect of this prophetic warning but now, it has been fulfilled with the miliary losing credibility by the day while Primate Ayodele continues to gain momentum.
Likewise, At least 26 passengers and crew sustained varying degrees of injuries on Monday following an accident involving the Kaduna–Abuja train, according to the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).
Opeifa explained that the train departed Rigasa in Kaduna at 7:15 a.m. and was approaching Asham station around 9:16 a.m. when a loud bang was heard after the power car and trailing locomotive collided with one of the passenger coaches.
In July 2025, Primate Ayodele asked nigerians to pray not to see train mishap on the Kaduna-Abuja route.
@primateayodele #nigeriantiktok🇳🇬 #fulfillment #train #abuja #primateayodele
“Let’s pray not to see train mishap in Abuja-Kaduna, Kaduna-Abuja route.”
This has also been fulfilled.
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