Controversy Trails Amended NLNG Act Submission To Senate

Barely two weeks after the amendment of Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Act by the House of Representatives, not much has been done to complete work on the Act.
Investigations showed that the House and the Senate have not started to work together on the amended Act, targeted at compelling the NLNG to contribute three per cent of its budget to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) for the funding of development projects and programmes in the Niger Delta region.
House of Representatives Minority Leader, Mr. Leo Ogor, confirmed in an interview that the amended Act was submitted to the Senate two weeks ago for concurrence or support.
But the upper chamber of the National Assembly, has indicated that it had not yet seen the amended Act.
Chairman of Senate Committee on Gas, Albert Akpan, said that his committee had not yet taken a position on the amendment because it had yet to receive it.
He said: “The Senate has not yet got the Act from the House of Representatives. We can’t react until we see the content.”
However, Ogor (PDP, Delta), who sponsored the amendment of the NLNG Act, told newsmen: “I think this thing is a very straight-forward issue, and like I said from the beginning, what we are asking the NLNG to do as a gas processing company in line with Section 14 (1)(b) of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Act, which stipulates that three per cent of the total annual budget of any oil producing company operating on-shore and off-shore in the Niger Delta, including gas processing under which NLNG is supposed to be, goes to the NDDC.”
While reacting to the development, however, the management of NLNG Limited said the amendment of the Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) Act (Fiscal, Guarantees, Assurances, and Incentives) by the House of Representatives on May 9, 2017, will subject the company to more than just the three per cent NDDC levy due to the removal of the Guarantees and Assurances in the Act.
In a statement, General Manager, External Relations, Nigeria LNG Limited, Dr Kudo Eresia-Eke, stated: “The complete removal is a huge error, and it is inimical to the growth of Nigeria and a direct collision with the Federal Government’s drive to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
“The main thrust of the Guarantees and Assurances were to assure the foreign investors that their investments would be protected by the non-amendment of the NLNG Act,” the statement claimed.
Meanwhile, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), has reiterated its opposition to the amendment of the Nigeria LNG Limited (Fiscal Incentives, Guarantees and Assurances) Act, calling on the National Assembly to halt the process in the interest of Nigeria.
The union made its position known when the leadership of the association visited the head office of NLNG, recently.
President of PENGASSAN, Francis Johnson, said any amendment to the NLNG Act, which is an agreement crystallised into law, should be driven by the executive arm of government, which entered into the deal with the foreign investors.
However, investigations showed that the involvement of Ogor as contractor to the NDDC has threatened the credibility of the House of Representatives to amend the NLNG Act.
Already, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), stated that it has blocked over N116million belonging to Ogor.
According to EFCC, it was examining the payment of over N318million to two of the companies by the NDDC.
When contacted, Ogor declined to comment on the issue, adding that he had already made himself clear to the media.
When prodded, Managing Director of NDDC, Mr. Nsima Ekere, declined to comment on the issue.