Business
NASS Approves N369bn Projects Settlement For 19 States
Lagos State will receive the lion’s share of the N369 billion approved by the National Assembly to 19 states of the Federation for the settlement of outstanding claims and liabilities for executing Federal Government projects.
The approval followed a request by President Muhammadu Buhari in March to the National Assembly for the issuance of promissory notes and bonds to settle inherited local debts and contractual obligations worth N2.698 trillion.
The states will be refunded for rehabilitating or constructing federal roads and bridges.
While Lagos State receives the highest reimbursement of N114.6 billion, Niger gets the lowest of N333.8 million.
The approval followed adoption of the interim report of the Ad-hoc Committee on Issuance of Promissory Note and Bond Issuance in the Senate and that of the House Committee on Aids, Loans and Debt Management in the House of Representatives.
Although both legislative chambers approved the President’s request on their last day of sitting on June 7, 2018 before embarking on Sallah break.
Other states and the refunds approved for them include: Akwa-Ibom N78.7 billion, Zamfara N39.9 billion, Anambra N37.9 billion, Ebonyi N15.4 billion, Osun N13.2 billion, Plateau N12.1 billion, Ekiti N11.6 billion and Kwara N11.2 billion.
Others are: Jigawa N10.7 billion, Edo N10.4 billion, Gombe N6.9 billion, Kano N4.4 billion, Ondo N4.3 billion, Adamawa N4.2 billion, Benue N3.02 billion and Imo N2.8 billion.
States across the Federation have been demanding for immediate reimbursement of funds spent on Federal roads on behalf of the Federal Government.
It was gathered that many of the states had to intervene in the pitiable condition of federal roads and bridges between 2010 and 2015 when they were abandoned by contractors mainly due to lack of funds.
However, the upper legislative chamber gave the number of states with outstanding claims and liabilities for executing federal highways on behalf of Federal Government as 25, with a debt of N584.983 billion.
In a letter dated March 8, 2018, President Buhari had requested for approval to commence a promissory note and bonds issuance programme to clear long-standing obligations inherited by the present administration.
The obligations, according to the President, include: unpaid obligations to pensioners, salaries and promotional arrears to civil servants; subsidy arrears, interest accrued and foreign exchange differentials; contractors and supplier debts; unpaid power bills and obligations from tariff reversal in 2014; Export Expansion Grant (EEG) scheme debts; judgement debts and refund to State Governments for projects undertaken on behalf of the Federal Government.
Chairman of the Senate ad-hoc committee and Deputy Senate Chief Whip, Francis Alimikhena (APC, Edo State), submitted that while the obligations would stimulate the economy, approving all the obligations in one swoop would lead to inflation.
“It is important to approve the obligations in order to stimulate the economy, however to avoid inflation, all of the obligations cannot be approved at once,” Alimikhena said.
Breakdown of the N2.698 trillion for the settlement of obligations and liabilities submitted by the Executive include: N1.957 trillion for capital projects and N741 billion recurrent expenditure.
The committee, however, noted that for the National Assembly to approve borrowing for recurrent expenditure as requested by the President, there was need to amend Section 41(1)(a) and 44(2)(b) of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA), 2007.
The sections stipulate that proceeds of borrowing by Government at all tiers, shall be applied solely towards capital expenditure.
The Board stated this in a statement released by its Corporate Communications Directorate to newsmen, recently, during the inauguration of 140 trainees for the Train 7 Project.
The trainees had undergone the Nigerian Content Human Capacity Development (NC-HCD) programme it organised in partnership with the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
The Tide gathered that the training programme was an intensive three-month Advanced NC-HCD Programme for the US$5 billion NLNG Train 7 Project on Bonny Island, Rivers State.
The trainees, The Tide further learnt are graduates in different academic disciplines who have completed a 12-month Basic Training Programme in diverse oil-and-gas-industry-related skill sets and are now set for an on-the-job phase which includes active hands-on participation in operational areas such as Turn Around Maintenance (TAM), Commissioning, and Desktop Programmes.
The Corporate Communications Directorate of the NCDMB told The Tide that in November 2024, a set of 331 trainees under Batch A of the NLNG T7 HCD Training Programme began capacity development in facility management, engineering, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Health Safety and Environment (HSE), Quality Assurance and Quality Control, as well as welding and fabrication.
According to the Board, additional 77 trainees under Batch B of the same Training Programme began capacity development in data analytics and supply chain management among several other fields relevant to the operations of the oil and gas industry.
While addressing the trainees and trainers who were drawn from the Oil and Gas Trainers Association of Nigeria (OGTAN), Management Personnel of the NCDMB and NLNG, the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr Felix Omatsola Ogbe, said the Advanced NC-HCD training is more than a milestone.
“The NC-HCD training programme is an expression of the collective commitment of the Board and the NLNG to nurturing world-class Nigerian professionals who will shape the future of our oil and gas industry.
“The Board has remained steadfast in its conviction that Human Capital Development is a critical investment in the sustainability and competitiveness of Nigeria’s oil and gas value chain”, the NCDMB boss said.
He said the situation has resulted in widened knowledge gaps and operational challenges.
As a globally regulated sector, he said it was important that stakeholders put measures in place to attract the talents required to move the industry forward.
Keyamo, therefore, called on stakeholders in the industry to be deliberate in identifying, encouraging, nurturing and harvesting young talents to ensure a sustainable supply of manpower to the aviation sector.
Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection of the FAAN, Mrs Obiageli Orah, in a release made available to aviation correspondents, noted that the Minister deemed it necessary to attract the right quality of human resources required to move the sector forward.
“As a globally regulated sector, it is important that stakeholders put measures in place to continually attract the right quality and quantity of human resources required to move the industry forward.
“It is important to note that organising training programmes are avenues through which we can breed, nurture, and harvest such human resources.
“One of the critical challenges facing the industry is the ageing and retiring workforce, leading to widened knowledge gaps and operational issues.
“Training programmes, I believe, is among other things designed to make aviation appealing to the younger generation, while encouraging them to develop interest in taking up a career in the industry”, the statement stated.
Meanwhile, some aviation stakeholders have expressed concerns of countless young Nigerians who seek to make their mark in aviation, tourism, and the wider transport ecosystem but often face steep barriers to entry.
According to them, lack of access, limited mentorship, financial constraints, skill mismatches, and systemic gaps, among others, have posed some constraints to them.
The Tide gathered that by the appointment, Ogbe becomes Nigeria’s representative on the Board of the 18-member continental body, which has its headquarters at Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo.
Ogbe was picked for this role by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, who doubles as the Chairman of the NCDMB Governing Council.
The notice of the Executive Secretary’s appointment was conveyed in a congratulatory letter signed by the Director of Support Services, APPO, Mrs. Philomena Ikoko, on behalf of the Secretary-General of the organisation, Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim.
She applauded the NCDMB boss on the confidence reposed in him by the Minister, expressing her belief that he would make immense contributions to the development of the African oil and gas industry.
Mrs Ikoko stated that Ogbe was joining the Executive Board of APPO at a challenging time for the oil and gas industry, especially in Africa.
“Your appointment is a major call to duty for Nigeria and the continent. The secretariat will give you the support you will need to make a success of your assignment”, she said.
According to a statement by the Directorate of Corporate Communications and Zonal Coordination, the NCDMB played key roles in catalysing the operations of APPO and the development of local content in Africa.
The statement added that the board was providing institutional support and mentorship to several oil producing countries in their formulation of local content policies.
“The NCDMB initiated the African Local Content Roundtable (ALCR) and hosted the inaugural edition in Yenagoa, Bayelsa state, in June 2021, and the event was attended by key officials of APPO and other oil industry players.
“The idea for the Africa Energy Bank (AEB) was mooted by NCDMB’s officials at the event, as one of the strategies that would accelerate the growth of the African oil and gas industry and deepen local content.
“The Board also collaborated with APPO to host subsequent editions of the African Local Content Roundtable (ALCR), including the 2023 edition held at Abuja.
“The Africa Energy Bank, which APPO is setting up at Abuja, is aimed at pooling financial resources needed to fund big-ticket oil and gas projects across the continent, and bridge funding challenges currently impeding the development of the sector”, the NCDMB’S said.
Meanwhile, the APPO Secretary-General has said the Africa Energy Bank seeks to fund oil and gas projects across economies in Africa and help to plug critical financing gaps that exist through the continent’s over reliance on financiers from the West.
He added that each APPO member country is expected to raise $83 million with an objective of raising $5 billion capital for the establishment of the Bank.
The Tide learnt that recently Nigeria, Angola and Ghana have contributed their share capital for the African Energy Bank, which represents 44 percent of the trio’s contributions to the minimum capital that is required from oil producing countries in the continent.
It would be recalled that at the Nigerian Oil and Gas Opportunity Fair (NOGOF) held recently, the NCDMB’s Scribe confirmed that the agency was part of key institutions that pooled resources for the formation of the Africa Energy Bank.
Ogbe announced that the Bank will open for business before the end of the 2nd quarter of this year, 2025, expressing hope that it will create more funding availability for local oil and gas projects and companies.
Similarly, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, had stated at the Offshore Technology Conference that Afrexim Bank has already raised $19billion for the take-off of the Africa Energy Bank.
According to him, $14 billion out of the funds represents the bank’s financial exposure on African oil and gas projects, with the additional $5 billion as take-off capital.