From Felix Ikem, Nsukka
A professor of Electrical and Electronics Engineering at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Prof. Emenike Ejiogu was honored with the Nigerian Content Innovator of the Year Award at the inaugural Champions of Nigerian Content Awards.
The event, held on Wednesday at the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, was a key feature of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Opportunity Fair (NOGOF 2025).
Organized by the NCDMB in collaboration with Sweetcrude Limited, the ceremony recognized exceptional contributions to local content in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
Prof Ejiogu who is also the Director, Africa Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Power and Energy Development (ACE-SPED), UNN was celebrated for his contributions to solving the energy crisis in the country with local content.
One of which was the invention of the 100KVA and 500KVA Refuse Drives Fuel (RDF) Gasification Plant at the UNN.
The waste-to-energy Gasifier was entirely designed and manufactured in his Laboratory of Innovative Electronics, Power Devices and New Energy Systems (LIEPNES).
In his acceptance speech, Ejiogu said he was honoured to receive the award. “It’s an honour to receive this award from the foremost NCDMB. I spent 25-year of my life in Japan doing research and development in the energy sector, and all those years what has been in my mind was how to domesticate technologies that I had learned in Nigeria and that was the driving force why I returned to Nigeria to help and see where we can partner with organizations like the local content board to make sure that some of these technologies are domesticated for the benefit of our youths and our society.
“So this award is an honour, encouragement, and a call to action for us to continue what we have been doing over the past several years, and it is a pledge also on my part as well as our research organization and research partners to continue in this manner of developing our nation,” he said.
Early in a remark, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, the Executive Secretary of NCDMB highlighted the transparent and rigorous process in selecting the awardees.
“We’re honouring champions who’ve elevated Nigerian content beyond mere compliance.
“This recognition is for those who have gone beyond compliance to drive tangible growth in Nigerian Content,” he said.
Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan was also honoured with the Nigerian Content Lifetime Achievement Award.
The NCDMB was established by the Federal Government to promote Nigerian content in the oil and gas industry by developing local capabilities and ensuring compliance with local content regulations.