Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has pledged incentives to stimulate the growth and capacity of the Nigeria LNG Ltd. (NLNG) and expand the benefits of gas to Nigerians.
Receiving the Board and Executive Management of the NLNG at the Presidential Villa on Wednesday in Abuja, Tinubu pledged that his administration would support initiatives aimed at converting challenges in the gas sector, including gas flaring, into economic opportunities for Nigerians.
He stressed the need to prioritise domestic utilisation of gas 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 the NLNG remained central to the country’s energy security, while also generating revenue, creating employment and making cooking gas available to Nigerians.
According to Falade, 100 per cent of the nation’s cooking gas comes into the Nigerian market. And nothing is going to change from that.
He stated that the ongoing construction of Train 7, which currently employs about 16,000 people, would further expand NLNG’s capacity and generate wider economic opportunities.
Falade explained that 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 the economic development of Nigeria.
GIK/APA