President Bola Tinubu has pledged incentives to stimulate the growth and capacity of Nigeria LNG Ltd. (NLNG) and expand the benefits of gas to Nigerians.
Tinubu made the commitment on Wednesday when he received the board and executive management of NLNG at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He said his administration would support initiatives aimed at converting challenges in the gas sector, including gas flaring, into economic opportunities for Nigerians.
The President stressed the need to prioritise domestic gas utilisation and ensure that the country’s natural resources contribute directly to economic growth and improved welfare.
“My major concern is the domestic utilisation. You must be able to take out the flaring and convert potential environmental liability to what could be strategically and economically beneficial to the consumers.
“Any other incentive that might be necessary to stimulate growth and expand your capacity, I will be willing to do that.
“Whatever assets that we have in the ground is nothing unless it is brought up to service the economy, the people, and the realisation of a good return on investment,” Tinubu said.
He urged the NLNG management to sustain efforts to expand the company’s contribution to Nigeria’s energy security and economic development.
The President also emphasised the need for greater domestication of LNG-related activities and pricing mechanisms that would make the benefits of the sector more accessible to ordinary Nigerians.
Earlier, the Managing Director of NLNG, Mr Adeleye Falade, said the company’s priority was to sustain energy security while supporting the administration’s drive for increased domestic gas production and utilisation.
Falade said the company would scale up its operational efficiency, discipline and contribution to the Nigerian economy.
He said NLNG remained central to the country’s energy security, while also generating revenue, creating employment and making cooking gas available to Nigerians.
“100 per cent of our cooking gas in Nigeria comes into the Nigerian market. And nothing is going to change from that,” Falade said.
He said the ongoing construction of Train 7, which currently employs about 16,000 people, would further expand NLNG’s capacity and generate wider economic opportunities.
According to him, Train 7 is expected to increase the company’s domestic cooking-gas capacity by 50 per cent when completed.
He assured that the company would continue to operate responsibly, generate revenue, support host communities and contribute more significantly to Nigeria’s economic development.
(The Whistler)