PENGASSAN urges lawmakers not to temper with NLNG Act

Oil workers, under the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), have questioned the plan by the House of Representatives to amend the NLNG (Fiscal Incentives, Guarantees and Assurances) Act, saying the development is unnecessary.

PENGASSAN stated this during its recent National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Abuja, saying, “the amendment can cause imminent losses that will far outweigh any doubtful gains”.

It said in a statement signed by PENGASSAN president, Comrade Francis Johnson, and acting general secretary, Comrade Lumumba Okugbawa, that the amendment will impact negatively on the image of Nigeria as the international community would perceive it as a country that did not honour its promises and one which does not take its call for foreign investments seriously.

The proposed amendment, it said, could 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, adding that this will negate the job creation and job security policy being propagated by the current administration.

The senior staff trade union added that the National Assembly’s proposed action would also not only affect recent gains made in the area of gas flaring in Nigeria, 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.

According to the union’s statement, “NLNG is a Madein-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.”