News
NLNG Remits $6.5bn To FG …Spends $120m On Bonny-Bodo Road
The Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) has remitted more than $6.5 billion in taxes to Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) since 2009.
Managing Director of NLNG, Mr Tony Attah said at the investigative hearing into the proposed sale of the company held by the House of Representatives Committee on Gas Resources in Abuja.
The hearing was on the need to investigate contract for modification of Escravos Gas Project (EGP) 3B production platform, following the joint ventures agreement between the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and Chevron Nigeria Limited.
It is also on the investigation into the contract for the upgrade of OML 58 Upgrade 1 and the building of Obote/Ubeta/Rumuji pipeline.
According to him, since the NLNG became a tax-paying company its contributions are helping to build a better Nigeria even though it does more than financial contribution.
“As a result of Nigeria LNG being in existence, we have helped to reduce gas flaring by more than 65 per cent and will continue to work with our upstream suppliers to mop-up more.
“This is because we produce the opportunity as the biggest gas sink for whatever gas is provided in the country. We have the capacity to receive that gas but I think by far the biggest opportunity is in Nigeria’s brand and reputation.
“Before NLNG, Nigeria was actually No. 2 on the undesired league of gas flaring nations in the world.
“But today, we are No. 7 ahead of other countries such as United States, I mean, United States is flaring more than Nigeria,” Attah said.
He added that the company was spending about $120million on the construction of Bonny-Bono Road which will connect Bonny to Port Harcourt, slated for completion within 40 months.
On the development plans of the company, Attah unveiled the company’s plan to embark on $6billion capacity development project for the Train 7, which had potential of creating 12,000 new jobs in the Niger Delta region.
“The big deal for us in Nigeria LNG is growing capacity. Currently, we have six Trains with 22 million tonnes per annum capacity which is 7 per cent of global market share of LNG.
“We want to grow back to the 10 per cent which was what it was before. So, we want to grow by about 35 per cent capacity before Australia.
“We want to grow by about 355 capacity, that will come via Train 7 project for which we have commenced the engineering design and we are looking forward to taking a final investment decision not too long.’’
He also said NLNG had remitted more than $100billion as revenue to the coffers of Federal Government and other equity holders in the company.
According to Attah, Federal Government through Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) which owned 49 per cent equity got more than $15billion dividends.
He said that this positioned the company as the singular highest tax paying company in Nigeria and indeed Africa.
Attah added that other shareholders such as Shell Gas BV owned 25.6 per cent, Total owned 15 per cent while ENI International owned 10.4 per cent.
On the company’s efforts towards reducing gas flaring in the country, Attah said that a lot of its contributions to the country is monetary, adding that more than $100billion revenue and about $15billion dividends had gone to the Federal Government directly.
Contributing, House of Representatives member, Hon Randoff Brown (PDP-Rivers) noted that NLNG was the most significant arrow-head of the Federal Government’s quest to eliminate gas flaring and derives value from the country’s 187 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves.
“NLNG has covered about 119 bcm (million standard cubic metres) or 4.2tcf (trillion cubic feet) of associated gas to export as LNG and natural gas liquids thus helping to reduce gas flaring by upstream companies from over 60 per cent to less than 25 per cent.
“NLNG mops up gas that would otherwise be flared, thus making significant contributions to the nation’s income, delivering in the last 13 years over $13billion on gas purchases from oil producing companies, of which the Federal Government of Nigeria owns 55 per cent – 60 per cent CIT and other taxes,” he said.
Also speaking, Rep. Diri Douye (PDP-Bayelsa), who sponsored the motion on the need to investigate the contract for the modification of the EGP 3B Production platform following the joint venture agreement between Federal Government, NNPC and Chevron Nigeria Limited, frowned at the delay in the completion of the project.
According to him, modification work on all the seven platforms was meant to have been completed by April 31, 2013, at the rate of $64,179,198 but it was eventually concluded in 2016 at a reviewed cost of $192.7million.
“The implication being that, whereas, it was awarded the contract on the basis of being the lowest bid it eventually became the highest bid.
“It is also alleged that Prime Source Limited (PSL) was poorly resourced in manpower, logistics, equipment and funding to undertake a job of such description.
“It is also instructive to note that PSL bid for the contract alongside a consortium, i.e Prime Source-Hensteel SOMECO, however, the contract was solely awarded in the name of PSL,’’ he said.
While ruling, chairman, House Committee on Gas Resources, Rep. Frederick Agbedi, tasked the company on the need to replicate its model for the country to take its rightful position in the global market and the implementation of developmental projects.
“We join the elders of the Niger Delta, and we are not in support of any contemplation to sell off NLNG.
“The shares held by NNPC on behalf of the country, the people of Nigeria have vested interests in the company, so they are not shares that any government can take in whatever guise.
“You don’t play politics with such investment even if that is the only revenue we can rely on as a nation.
“On that note, the committee will step down the motion for the committee’s consideration. On the other two motions, we are frustrated by the position of the NNPC,” Agbedi said.
Agbedi then expressed concern over the absence of the NNPC Group Managing Director, Dr Maikanti Baru, at the hearing.
The committee, however, resolved to adjourn sine die, till the NNPC helmsman appears in person to respond to queries on the $114.580million variation on the modification of the EGP 3B Production platform.
Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”
During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.
The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.
In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.
News
RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers
The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.
This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.
The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.
Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.
The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.
He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.
According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.
At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.
He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.
Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.
According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.
At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.
He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.
Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.
He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.
However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.
At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.
He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.
Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.
Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.
In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.
At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.
Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.
Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.
John Bibor
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.
The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.
“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.
Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.
He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.
“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.
President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.
He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.
“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.
“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.
Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.
Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.
She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.
Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.