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Representatives may compel NLNG to fund NDDC

By Adamu Abuh, Abuja
21 March 2016   |   3:10 am
The Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited may be compelled to contribute in the funding of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in no distant time.

NLG

The Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited may be compelled to contribute in the funding of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in no distant time.

A bill aimed at achieving the objective has made tremendous progress on the floor of the House of Representatives.

The Bill sponsored by the House Minority Leader, Leo Ogor, is entitled: “Bill for an Act to Amend the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG (Fiscal Incentives, Guaranteed and Assurances) Act, Cap. N87, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 to empower the Nigerian LNG Ltd to make its Statutory Contributions to the NDDC Fund and for Other Matters Connected Therewith.”

The NDDC Establishment Act, specifically section 14 (2)(b) stipulates that three percent of the total annual budget of any oil producing company operating onshore and offshore in the Niger Delta area, including gas processing companies like NLNG, shall be paid into the Funds of the Niger Delta Development Commission.

Ogor, while leading debate on the general principles of the legislation, claimed that to the best of his knowledge, the NLNG Limited has not contributed a kobo to the NDDC fund as required by the NDDC Act, 2000 for about 27 years of its operation in the region, despite the huge earnings it has made.
“ This is great injustice and dis-service to the people of the Niger Delta region,” he argued.

“Under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), companies are supposed to positively impact on the environment where they operate to rejuvenate it and improve on the lives and well-being of indigenes of such areas,” Ogor stressed. He further stated that the Bill also seeks to prevent a total degradation of the oil-rich Niger Delta region whose environment has extensively been depleted due to oil exploration over the years.

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