Tag Archives: Billions

Nigeria Will Lose $25bn To NLNG Act Amendment – Omotowa

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The outgoing Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria LNG Limited, Mr. Babs Omotowa, has said the proposed amendment of the NLNG Act of 2004 will cost the country over $25bn in foreign direct investment and fines running in billions at international courts.

Omotowa said any tinkering of the Act would violate bilateral agreements with international investors.

He stated this on Thursday in Lagos at the National Association of Energy Correspondents’ Annual Conference.

Omotowa, who was the chairman at the event, has been the Managing Director for NLNG for some five years and will be handing over to incoming MD, Tony Attah, on September 1, 2016.

He said the NLNG, through its expansion growth programme, which involves the expansion of production capacity of the LNG plant in Bonny, Rivers State, with a Train 7 and 8, could attract $25bn.

He said it could create 30,000 construction jobs, help to further reduce gas flaring, and generate over $1bn to $2bn additional revenue to the country in taxes and dividend.

Omotowa said, “In a period of huge youth unemployment and need for more revenue, this should really be a cause we should have all hands on deck for, especially as NLNG has demonstrated its pedigree having attracted $15bn in foreign investment, grown from a two-train to a six-train plant, contributed to reducing gas flaring from 65 per cent to below 20 per cent, delivered $33bn to Nigeria from a $2.5bn investment.

“This potential $25bn in investment, creation of 30,000 jobs, reduced gas flaring, among others, are being put in jeopardy by attempts to renege on promises that Nigeria gave to foreign investors that enabled the historical $15bn investment historically attracted.”

Omotowa said while the executive had demonstrated full commitment to the need to keep the sanctity of the NLNG Act, the attempt by the legislature to amend the clear promises made to investors would cost the country quite a lot.

He said, “Apart from the relocation of investments in excess of $25bn to other countries, Nigeria will also be opened to fines running into billions of dollars in International Courts for reneging on agreements.

“Such incentives in the NLNG Act are normal in the LNG world including in Qatar, Oman, Malaysia, Angola, etc. Even in Nigeria, more generous incentives are contained in legislation such as the Oil & Gas Free Trade Zone Act,” he said.

NLNG is owned by four shareholders, namely, the Federal Government, represented by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (49 per cent), Shell Gas BV, SGBV, (25.6 per cent), Total LNG Nigeria Limited (15 per cent), and Eni International (10.4 per cent).

http://punchng.com/nigeria-will-lose-25bn-nlng-act-amendment-omotowa/

Aluko Revelation: Read All He Said On #Ekitigate

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A former secretary of the Ekiti State chapter of the governing Peoples Democratic Party,  Tope Aluko, on Sunday revealed how former President Goodluck Jonathan gave the then candidate of the party, Ayo Fayose, large sums of money and military support to help rig the governorship election held in the state in 2014.

Mr. Fayose however reacted swiftly, describing the claims by the former PDP secretary as simply a new distraction from the APC in Ekiti State.

The governor said Mr. Aluko deserved no response from sane minds.

Speaking on a political programme, Politics Today, on Channels Television, Mr. Aluko narrated how the state’s chapter of the party convinced Mr. Jonathan to part with huge sum of money and direct the military and other security agencies to cooperate with the PDP and ensure the party wins the election at all cost.

“Before the primaries, we had this believe that because Jonathan was coming out for second term and because we are going to be the first election in the south-west, at a meeting, we told him (former President Goodluck Jonathan) that north-east, north-west and north-central may not be too sure for him because the Hausas are clamouring for presidency and that you now have south-east and South-south, you must manage the South-west”.

“It was on the basis of that that we told him that he must manage South-west.

“Because of his interest, even before winning the primaries, we did so many security reports to tell Mr President then that he must make sure that we manage South-west zone and it was because of that that he gave us the head of security agencies,” Mr Aluko said.

The PDP chieftain was also quoted as telling reporters in Abuja that Mr. Jonathan actually gave Mr. Fayose $37 million (N4.7 bn) which was used to rig the election.

The then incumbent governor, Kayode Fayemi, conceded defeat after the Independent National Electoral Commission, declared Mr. Fayose winner of the election.

Before the election, security operatives from the State Security Service, acting as a “Strike Team” arrested some chieftains of the APC, including then spokesperson of the party, Lai Mohammed and others.

Troops of the Nigerian Army also blocked all roads leading into the state, and the planes of some APC governors, including those of Rivers and Edo States, were denied landing rights.

Mr. Aluko on Sunday said the then Minister of  State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, and that of Police Affairs, Jelili Adesiyan, were made to give attention to the election because “we know that APC was everywhere in the southwest and we must naturally capture part of southwest if we want to balance what our brothers in the north were likely to bring on”.

He also revealed that there was an agreement to take out some members of the APC to ensure that they do not give adequate support to their members.

“There was a strike team, a mixture of the SSS, military, the mobile police… that is about all.

“We had a meeting at Aso Rock on security and funds. We were given security and funds.

He listed the persons at the meeting to include Mr. Jonathan; the then national chairman of the PDP, Adamu Mu’azu, Governor Fayose; and himself (Aluko).

“At the meeting President Jonathan agreed that if he needed Ekiti, he would support us to ensure that we delivered.

“At the second meeting we had Obanikoro, Jelili, Omisore… It was a combination of Osun and Ekiti people and they were discussing how we were going to move to take the South-west.

“Before the primaries, His Excellency, Ayodele Fayose, said that we can only win using the military,” he said.

Credit: PremiumTimes

Buhari Vows To Recover Billions Of Stolen Money In The Next Three Months

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President Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday in Abuja assured State Governors that the days of impunity, lack of accountability, and fiscal recklessness in the management of national resources are  over in Nigeria.

Speaking at a meeting with the Governors in the Presidential Villa, President Buhari  also vowed that funds stolen  by government officials who abused their offices in the recent past will  be recovered and systemic leakages stopped.

“There are financial and administrative instructions in every government parastatal and agency. But all these were thrown to the dogs in the past. Honestly, our problems are great, but we will do our best to surmount them.

“The next three months may be hard, but billions of dollars can be recovered, and we will do our best, ” the President told the governors.

Read More: saharareporters

Senator Boroffice Denies NASS Members Will Be Receiving N8.64bn Wardrobe Allowance, Says It’s For Miscellaneous Expenses

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A member of the National Assembly, Senator Ajayi Borrofice representing Ondo North has come out to deny reports that the National Assembly Members will be given N8.64bn as wardrobe allowance.

Speaking to ThisDay, Senator Borrofice said the controversial N8.64bn to be released to members of the National Assembly is for miscellaneous or regular expenses such as motor vehicle fueling and maintenance, wardrobe, domestic staff, personal assistant, constituency office, house maintenance, utilities and entertainment, among other perks, for the entire 469 lawmakers in the National Assembly.

Senator Borrifice said the miscellaneous allowance also includes cost of securing and equipping constituency offices in various local government areas which make up their constituencies and also includes monies to be used by lawmakers to organize town hall meetings in their various constituencies.

He said it was wrong for the public to believe they will be using N8.64 billion just for clothes.

According to him, the wardrobe allowance is the least significant to the assembly members. He stated that the miscellaneous allowance they will receive will be deducted in tranches from their salaries.

The report of the lawmakers collecting N8.64 billion as their wardrobe allowance surfaced yesterday June 16th with most Nigerians strongly condemning it.

We Are Borrowing Billions To Pay Salaries- Okonjo-Iweala

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In the face of dwindling oil revenues, Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said the Federal Government has borrowed about N473billion to pay salaries and fund the 2015 budget.

The Minister, who was speaking in Abuja on the details of the N4.493trillion appropriation already passed by the National Assembly, said the federal government had to raise its borrowing level from N570 billion to N882 billion to enable it meet its financial obligations to workers and contractors.

The minister blamed it on the decline in oil revenue in late 2014, which accounted for 50 per cent cut in the total federally collectible revenue as well as the low revenue receipts from non-oil sources.

Despite past efforts to reduce government borrowing level, she said the acute cash flow problems forced government to take the decision to curb the negative impact of revenue crunch.

The Minister said about N380billion came from external sources, while the balance is for domestic borrowing.

“We have tried to work within the budget,” she said. “Last year, the borrowing came down to about N570 billion. But, this year, because of the very difficult cash flow situation, we have provided N882billion in borrowing.

“About N380billion of that is external borrowing and the balance of N502 billion is for domestic borrowing. All we have borrowed so far is N473billion, which is within the budget.”

Read More: premiumtimesng