The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, has rejected the proposed plan by the House of Representatives to amend the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas, NLNG, Act, describing the proposed amendment as unnecessary and detrimental to Nigeria.
At its National Executive Committee, NEC, meeting in Abuja, PENGASSAN said: “The amendment could cause imminent losses that would far outweigh any doubtful gain.
In a statement titled ‘Proposed Amendment of the NLNG Act: Economic and Security Implications for the Nation’, by PENGASSAN President, Francis Johnson, and Acting General Secretary, Lumumba Okugbawa, the union contended that amendment would impact negatively on the image of Nigeria.
It argued that the international community would perceive “Nigeria as a country which does not honour its promises as well as one which does not take its call for foreign investments, led by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, seriously.”
It added: “The proposed amendment can directly affect some $25 billion worth of foreign investments as well as another 18,000 Nigerian jobs linked to NLNG’s Train 7 and 8 expansion programmes. This will negate the job creation and job security policy being propagated by the current administration. The National Assembly’s proposed action will also not only affect recent gains made in the area of gas flaring which has reduced from 65% to less than 20%, but lead to the loss of up to $124 million annually payable as taxes and dividends to the Federal Government.
“NLNG is a made-in-Nigeria company competing globally and has been a huge success so far. It is currently the 4th largest supplier of LNG in the world. NLNG is a pride to Nigeria and the country’s flagship company, with the model being considered for replication in various sectors of the economy. The proposed amendment of the NLNG Act is not in the interest of Nigeria and it is absolutely necessary that the Act is not amended as the imminent losses will far outweigh any doubtful gains; this is completely against what the country requires at this time and should not be allowed. It is essential that Nigeria as a country must be able to generate adequate confidence within the international investor community to sustain critical ongoing and future investment beginning with the stalled Brass and OK LNG projects.” (Vanguard)
