UNILORIN student wins NCDMB essay contest, gets N1m

A 200-level Physiotherapy student of the University of Ilorin, Kwara State, Wisdom David Fabunmi, has won the 2026 Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board’s National Undergraduate Essay Competition, receiving N1m, a laptop and a plaque.

Fabunmi emerged overall winner of the 10th edition of the competition, which attracted about 5,000 entries from undergraduates in 52 universities across the country.

The award ceremony was held at the NCDMB Conference Centre in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, on Friday, with this year’s contest themed “Promoting Manufacturing for Sustainable Local Content Development.”

The first runner-up, Joy Oghogho Enogieru, a 100-level Doctor of Optometry student at the University of Benin, Edo State, received N700,000, a laptop and a plaque.

Ahmadu Kodan Yusuf, a 100-level Law student at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, finished third and received N500,000, a laptop and a plaque.

Consolation prizes were also presented to contestants who finished between fourth and ninth positions.

Speaking at the ceremony, the General Manager of the NCDMB’s Corporate Communications Division, Dr Obinna Ezeobi, who represented the Executive Secretary, Felix Omatsola Ogbe, said the competition was part of the board’s efforts to develop human capacity and promote Nigerian content in the oil and gas industry.

Ezeobi said the initiative encouraged students to think critically, conduct research and develop ideas that could contribute to the country’s economic growth.

“The ideas, commitment and ingenuity of our youths are crucial to the future of Nigerian Content,” he said.

He added that universities had a critical role in developing ideas and finding solutions to national challenges.

“Universities are institutions where ideas should be developed, problems examined, innovations encouraged and solutions created for the advancement of the society,” he said.

Ezeobi said the board’s capacity-building programmes included training graduates and artisans in technical and non-technical skills, as well as providing practical, on-the-job experience through industry projects.

He listed other youth-focused initiatives supported by the board as research centres of excellence in selected universities, the Nigerian Engineering Olympiad and the Catch-the-Researcher-Young Programme.

He also disclosed that the Nigerian Oil and Gas Readiness Training programme was training 10,000 young Nigerians in 10 priority skills required for emerging oil and gas projects.

On the competition’s theme, Ezeobi described manufacturing as essential to sustainable local content development, citing the Nigerian Oil and Gas Parks Scheme as an initiative to encourage the production of components used in the industry.

“Manufacturing is the bedrock of sustainable local content development,” he said.

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He added that the Nigerian Content Equipment Commitment policy required companies to demonstrate their manufacturing capacity and ability to execute key activities before securing contract opportunities in the oil and gas sector.

Earlier, the programme consultant and Chief Executive Officer of Mahogany 21st Century Concepts Limited, Eyinimi Omorozi, described the ceremony as a celebration of a decade of investment in young people’s ideas.

“From the essays of these young men and women, you can just tell that the future is very bright,” he said.

Omorozi said the board’s contribution to the oil and gas industry extended beyond infrastructure and regulatory oversight to developing the intellectual capacity of young Nigerians.

“NCDMB is not just building facilities and monitoring compliance, it is also building minds,” he said.

The chairman of the occasion and Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Otuoke, Professor Promise Mebine, commended the board for sustaining the competition and investing in young Nigerians.

He said local content development involved not only infrastructure but also the people who would drive the country’s future economic growth.

“Year after year, you have proven that building Nigerian Content is not only about pipelines and platforms, but about building people, particularly our youths, the leaders of tomorrow,” Mebine said.

Congratulating the winners, he urged them to maximise the opportunities provided by the competition, describing the award as a platform for further academic and professional achievements.

“Your prize today is well-deserved, but the real prize is not the cheque or the plaque. The real prize is that NCDMB has now opened a door for you. Walk through it!” he said.

Mebine encouraged other participants to continue researching and developing their ideas, regardless of their positions in the competition.

“You are not losers; every essay you submitted is a seed. You have trained your mind to think. You have trained your hand to write,” he said.

He urged the students to remain committed to research and national development, adding, “Keep writing; keep researching; keep believing in Nigeria; next year, the podium may be yours.”

In a goodwill message, the Director of the Monitoring and Evaluation Directorate, Esueme Dan Kikile, commended the board’s management, its Corporate Communications Division and the programme consultant for sustaining the competition.

Kikile said the initiative had continued to benefit the board and participating students by providing a platform for undergraduates to contribute ideas towards strengthening Nigerian content and industrial development.