Business
Senate To Strengthen Gas Flare Laws …Set to Punish Nigerian Accomplices
The Nigerian Senate has identified the fact that if Nigeria must meet up with the National Gas Flare-out Target of January 2030, it must have a working legislation, equipped with commensurate penalties for gas flaring offences in the nation.
The Senate has also made it clear that Nigerians who man the Petroleum Ministry and regulatory agencies are as much culpable to gas flaring offences as the multinational oil companies themselves.
These were part of issues raised at plenary, as the Senate considered a bill titled: Gas Flaring ( Prohibition and Punishment bill) 2016 sponsored by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Gas, Senator Bassey Albert Akpan.
The bill among others seeks to address the inadequacies of the 1979 Act; bring gas flare penalty in tune with current economic realities and ensure the achievement of the National Flare out Target of January 2030.
Sen Albert Bassey in his lead debate decried dangerous environmental and energy waste practices in the country’s petroleum industry.
Akpan noted that the flaring of natural gas was one of the most dangerous environmental and energy waste practices in the country’s petroleum industry.
He said that gas flaring had adverse effect on the environment and human health.
The lawmaker added that it had resulted in economic loss, deprived the Federal Government of tax revenues and trade opportunities and deprived consumers of clean and cheaper energy source.
His words: “Available data from the NNPC has shown that Nigeria lost billions in revenue last year. The volume of gas flared is sufficient to generate 3.5 megawatts of electricity. This is not to say the quantifiable social health and environmental impacts
‘It appears that the euphoria of oil discovery and commencement of production in 1958 blinded Nigerians as there was no provision to handle gas in association with the oil.
Government neither stipulated any law nor guidance during the nascent period of our oil production history
“All efforts to stop the flaring of natural gas has not been effective and Nigerians have remained the victims of lack of Gas Flaring Prohibition Act,” he said.
According to the lawmaker ,the bill when passed into law, would help to provide a strong legal framework for effective monitoring and regulation of gas activities in line with current realities.
He stressed that the bill sought to ensure achievement of the national flare out target of January 1, 2030 in line with the United Nations Charter.
In his contribution, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, Sen. John Enoh, said it was disheartening that Nigeria was still battling with stopping gas flaring and called for the passage of the bill in order to put strict measures in place to tackle the problems posed by the flaring of gas.
“We remain an amazing country especially because since 1958 up till now, we are still talking about what to do about gas flaring. So we have to put in measures to make it expensive to flare gas,” he said.
Senator Ben Murray Bruce lamented that gas flaring has continued in Nigeria because the laws against the act are toothless and obnoxious.
Senator Bruce noted that the practice thrived because Nigerians who man the ministries and regulatory agencies are unpatriotic and either allow the foreign companies flare the gas while they look the other way or allow them evade substantial punishment.
His words, ” Nobody ever pays attention to these incompetent people who should be protecting Nigerians.
“I agree we go for the foreign companies because they are very irresponsible themselves but we must deal with the issue of Nigerians who are not patriotic. We must discuss the issue of punishing these Nigerians.”
Nneka Amaechi-Nnadi
The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has criticised Nigeria’s import ban on 25 categories of goods, claiming that the restrictions limit market access for American exporters.
This is the effect of President Donald Trump’s tariffs introduction on goods entering the United States, with Nigeria facing a 14 per cent duty.
The USTR highlighted the impact of Nigeria’s import ban on various sectors, particularly agriculture, pharmaceuticals, beverages, and consumer goods.
The restrictions affect items such as beef, pork, poultry, fruit juices, medicaments, and alcoholic beverages, which the United States sees as significant barriers to trade.
The agency argues that these limitations reduce export opportunities for United States businesses and lead to lost revenue.
“Nigeria’s import ban on 25 different product categories impacts United States exporters, particularly in agriculture, pharmaceuticals, beverages, and consumer goods.
“Restrictions on items like beef, pork, poultry, fruit juices, medicaments, and spirits limit United States market access and reduce export opportunities.
“These policies create significant trade barriers that lead to lost revenue for United States businesses looking to expand in the Nigerian market”, the agency said .
In 2016, Nigeria implemented the ban on these 25 items as part of efforts to control imports and stimulate local production.
Some of the banned items include poultry, pork, refined vegetable oil, sugar, cocoa products, spaghetti, beer, and certain medicines.
On March 26, 2025, the Federal Government also announced plans to halt solar panel imports to encourage local manufacturing as part of its push for clean energy.
A leading agribusiness strategist and digital agriculture expert, Ayo Oluwa Okediji, has sought cooperative-driven investments in sustaining growth of poultry industry in Nigeria.
He said the poultry industry was at a defining moment and requires urgent structural reforms to secure its future and ensure long-term sustainability.
Speaking on the theme, “Strengthening Poultry Farming Through Cooperative Synergy and Strategic Investments”, at the recently concluded Oyo Mega Poultry Workshop 2025 in Ibadan, Okediji called on poultry farmers, cooperative leaders, financial institutions and policy makers to rethink the existing structure of the poultry sector.
He stressed the need to transition from fragmented, individually-driven operations to well-structured, cooperative-led enterprises capable of attracting sustainable financing and securing long-term viability.
He said, “Our poultry sector cannot thrive on individual effort alone. We need to organise ourselves into cooperative clusters, build strong governance systems and position ourselves to attract the level of investment needed to sustain this industry beyond this generation.”
Drawing on lessons from successful global cooperative models such as Rabobank in the Netherlands and Landus Cooperative in the United States, Okediji introduced the FarmClusters Poultry Model, a locally adapted solution developed by Agribusiness Dynamics Technology Limited (AgDyna), a subsidiary of AgroInfoTech Africa.
According to him, the model is currently being piloted in Oyo State in partnership with PANOY Agribusiness Limited and local poultry cooperatives.
The Rivers State Representative of the Nigeria Chambers of Commerce, Mines, Industries and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Mr. Erasmus Chukwundah, has urged palm oil farmers to consider hybrid seedlings for planting, if they must break even in palm oil business.
Chukwundah said this recently at the Free Oil Palm Business Climate Smart Best Management Practice/Assistance Training organized by Partnership Initiative In Niger Delta (PIND) for Palm Oil Farmers in Elele, Ikwerre Local Government Area.
The Rivers representative said until palm oil farmers begin to consider such hybrid oil palm seedlings, they may not meet up with the daily increasing demand of palm oil in the market.
According to him, the seedlings produce up to 30 bunches at once that ripen same time.
He said PIND decided to partner with Oil Palm Growers Association of Nigeria (OPGAN) to ensure that the message was received by the targeted audience.
According to him, palm oil remained a popular choice of industry operators as it could be converted to many other products such as vegetable cooking oil.
He also noted that products such as motor tyers, marine ropes and others are now gotten from the palm tree.
Chukwundah, who is the immediate past Director-General of Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Mines, Industries, and Agriculture (PHCCIMA), further warned against use of unrecommended fertilisers in growing oil palms.
He noted that such practices could limit its export value or chances as the foreign marketers have a way of detecting such .
He reiterated the need for organic fertilizers, including poultry droppings, to enable them have a natural palm oil.
“People must reduce physical contact with palm oil production. That is why we are campaigning for hydrolic oil mills. The foreign markets are no longer interested in crude method of palm oil production”, he said.
Meanwhile, one of the farmers, Sonny Didia, who appreciated Chukwundah’s commitment towards the concern of farmers, appealed for an urgent need for loan opportunity with low interest rate in order to enable them beat the target.
King Onunwor