Business

$21.686bn NLNG Fund: Reps Angry Over NNPC’s Rejection Of Summons

Published

5 years ago

November 9, 2020

The House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts says it is not happy by the refusal of the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Mele Kyari, to appear before the House over the audit query issued to the corporation by the Auditor General of the Federation on the illegal withdrawals of $20.301 billion from the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Dividends account.
Chairman, House Committee on Public Accounts, Rep. Wole Oke and other members who expressed the concern at the weekend, reinstated the need for the NNPC Group Managing Director and other relevant agencies to appear before the Committee to account for the disbursement of the money.
“I, and members of the Committee, are not happy that the GMD (of the NNPC), has failed several times to appear before us and give an account of this money”, Rep. Oke said.
The details of the NLNG transaction are contained in the document submitted to the House Committee on Public Accounts, by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) on the need to ‘investigate the illegal withdrawals from the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Dividends account by the management of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’.
According to the document, “from the total sum of $21.686 billion revenue accrued into the NLNG dividend account from 1999 to 2020, NNPC expended a total sum of $20,300,772,850 from the account leaving a credit balance of $1,384,875,073.39 as at 30th June 2020.”
The report stated that the sum of “$100 billion was generated by NLNG in sales revenue since inception. The company also has paid over $18 billion as dividends through NNPC and $6.1 billion as Company Income Tax (CIT) through the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
“In addition, the company also said that over $15 billion has been expended by NLNG for the purchase of feedstock gas for its operations.
“Furthermore, between April 2002 and March 2007, the company paid a sum of $450,000 as Licence Fees and as the sum of N28,696,259.30 as NLNG Licence Renewal between the period 1999 and 2017 to the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).
“With respect to the payment of dividend, the NLNG reported that it has fully paid all dividends due to the Federation Account to NNPC.
“ Breakdown of the NLNG income tax payment from 1999 to 2020 showed that no revenue was paid between 1999 to 2013 (enjoyed pioneer status); sum of $1,301,544,000 was paid in 2014; $1,491,992,000 paid in 2015; $625,331,000 paid in 2016; $304,669,000 [aid in 2017; $704,182,000 paid in 2018; $907,754,000 paid in 2019 and $764,143,387 paid in 2020.
“It may be important to state that, the Commission in the discharge of its monitoring mandate visited the NLNG in August 2008, March 2013 and has consistently requested NNPC to remit all dividends received from NLNG to the Federation Account.
“Information available to the Commission indicates that a sum of $21,685,647,923.39 accrued into the NLNG Dividend Account from inception to 30th June, 2020.
“Details on how NNPC disbursed the $20.3 billion, showed that NLNG secretariat got $1,854,041.47; NLNG scheme 4 top up got $159.250 million; Brass LNG Scheme funding got $574,420,529.92; West African Gas Pipeline got $259,900,409; N-Gas (Takoradi, CEB Account, Gas Monitoring Station got $9,433,400; Trans-Sahara Gas Pipeline got $1,278,810.50; Olokola LNG got 216,928,550.55, while security project got $1.520 billion”, the report states in part.

Business

PENGASSAN Tasks Multinationals On Workers’ Salary Increase

Published

14 hours ago

December 8, 2025

The Tide

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has asked companies in the oil and gas sector to undertake urgent review of salaries of their workers in view of the prevailing harsh economic conditions in the country.

Also, the pensioners of Chevron Nigeria, under the aegis PenCoN, have lauded the President of PENGASSAN, Comrade Festus Osifo and his executive on their unrelenting efforts toward addressing pension abnormalities faced by retired workers in the oil and gas industry.

The association also appealed to the federal government to take necessary measures to check banditry and terrorist activities in parts of the country.

PENGASSAN President, Osifo who addressed journalists shortly after the National Executive Council meeting of the association in Abuja, at the weekend, said that though a lot of success has been recorded in negotiating salary reviews for its members, there are still organisations that have failed to lift their workers from the present harsh economic situation.

He said within this period, PENGASSAN has signed numerous Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) which has brought smiles to the faces of its teeming members.

“This is because we recognise that our job, literally, is how to protect the job of our members, and how to enhance their pay,” he said.

Osifo said that operators in the oil and gas sectors always go for the best qualified professionals to carry out their operations.

“So, the same way they recruit the best, we also challenge them to provide the best condition of service and provide the best remuneration.

“Yes, today, a lot of companies will have achieved successes, but there are still few that we are still discussing at their CBAs, that we are not yet there.

“We still use this opportunity to call on these companies that are still foot dragging, that are still holding back, even with the massive devaluation that has occurred in our country, that still don’t want to fix the remuneration of our members.

“We are calling on them to do the needful, because for us in PENGASSAN we will push without holding back. We will push, using everything in our arsenal, to ensure that the needful is done,” he said.

Osifo spoke of the dispute with the Dangote Refinery group, saying there are still pending issues to be resolved.

“Gentlemen of the press, during the networking session, we also looked at the issues that are plaguing some of our branches, and you know that recently, we had some challenges in Dangote Refinery and PetroChemicals Ltd.

“And within this period, since our last National Industrial Action, we have been engaging them in a lot of conversations, but the issues are not fully resolved. There are still a lot of pending issues.

“Yes, the NEC decided that, yes, let us still consummate that process by pushing those issues, by engaging in dialogue to resolve the issues, and by also engaging all our social partners and stakeholders to get the issues resolved,” he said.

Business

SEC Unveils Digital Regulatory Hub To Boost Oversight Across Financial Markets

Published

14 hours ago

December 8, 2025

The Tide

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has launched the Regulatory Hub, a new centralized digital platform designed to streamline collaboration, strengthen oversight, and improve transparency across Nigeria’s financial and capital market ecosystem.

The Commission disclosed this in a statement posted on its website.

According to the commission, the platform connects key regulatory and security institutions including the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), and Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), enabling them to exchange information securely and in real time.

The launch of this regulatory hub comes ahead of the implementation of new tax laws in January 2026, with agencies such as the FIRS spreading its tentacles across sector to monitor compliance.

According to the SEC Director-General, Emomotimi Agama, the launch marks a significant step toward modernizing Nigeria’s regulatory framework through technology.

“The Regulatory Hub is a major step in our commitment to leverage technology for stronger regulatory synergy. By connecting regulators on one platform, we are building resilience, enhancing market integrity, and promoting investor confidence,” he said.

The SEC said the platform would help reduce bottlenecks in regulatory processes and facilitate faster, more informed decision-making across agencies.

Reinforcing the DG’s comments, the Executive Commissioner, Operations, Bola Ajomale, highlighted the operational benefits of the new system.

“The platform will significantly improve the timeliness and quality of regulatory decision-making. It provides a single window for regulators to share data, respond to requests, and collaborate seamlessly in safeguarding our financial and capital markets,” he said.

The commission believes the Regulatory Hub would support its broader mandate to strengthen investor protection, enhance market stability, and harmonize regulatory activities across the financial sector.

It urged stakeholders to initiate interest by emailing the Commission, adding that once registered, participants would be able to access the Hub and take advantage of its features.

Business

NAFDAC Decries Circulation Of Prohibited Food Items In markets …….Orders Vendors’ Immediate Cessation Of Dealings With Products

Published

14 hours ago

December 8, 2025

The Tide

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has raised an alarm over the growing circulation of banned food products across markets in the country.

The agency, in a Press Release dated 6 December 2025, warned that these items including pasta, noodles, sugar and tomato paste are expressly listed on the Federal Government’s Customs Prohibition List and are illegal to import.

NAFDAC stated that the sale and distribution of such prohibited items violate national trade laws, compromise the integrity of Nigeria’s food control system, and pose significant public health risks, as they have not undergone the agency’s mandatory safety and quality evaluations.

Importers, market traders, and supermarket operators have therefore, been directed to immediately cease all dealings in these items and to notify their supply chain partners to halt transactions involving prohibited products.

The agency emphasized that failure to comply will attract strict enforcement measures, including seizure and destruction of goods, suspension or revocation of operational licences, and prosecution under relevant laws.

The statement said “The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has raised an alarm over the growing incidence of smuggling, sale, and distribution of regulated food products such as pasta, noodles, sugar, and tomato paste currently found in markets across the country.

“These products are expressly listed on the Federal Government’s Customs Prohibition List and are not permitted for importation”.

NAFDAC also called on other government bodies, including the Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service(NIS) Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigeria Shippers Council, and the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS), to collaborate in enforcing the ban on these unsafe products.

By: Lady Godknows Ogbulu