Mr Babs Omotowa, Managing Director, Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), on Thursday commended President Muhammadu Buhari for progress made in confronting the challenges of low price of price.
Omotowa made the commendation at the 2016 Annual Conference of the National Association of Energy Correspondents (NAEC) on Thursday in Lagos.
He said that one of results of the president’s effort at combating the challenges was plugging leakages in the system, with attendant reduction in cost of governance.
He said that measures also included the deregulation of the oil downstream, reduction in the number of ministries, use of Bank Verification Number (BVN) to weed ghost workers and tackling corruption.
“The transparency that this government has brought about with the Treasury Single Account (TSA) is also commendable.
“This has allowed, for example, the dividend paid by NLNG to become visible to all as was the case with the popular `bailout fund’ where NLNG’s 2.1 billion dollars payment to the Federation Account was shared to the states.
“The effort of the government to trace where exactly the over 15 billion dollars we have paid as dividend to Nigeria between 2004- 2015 is one that must not be allowed to fizzle out.
“In addition, the Bureau of Public Procurement must be further strengthened to ensure that government always get value for money spent.
“Government spending in both capital and recurrent expenditures must be scrutinised against the backdrop of extracting value for money,’’ Omotowa said.
He also said that the government’s effort at diversification was critical and important, especially in the area of agriculture and tax reforms.
“One area to highlight, however, is that in spite of the need for all the reforms and to diversify the economy, we must ensure a conducive business environment.
“The private sector plays a key role in the development of any country, hence, the executive and legislature must do everything to ensure that we continue to attract investments, local and foreign.
“This will help in accelerating our development as government funding alone will not be adequate.
“NLNG ability to attract future investments to maintain and grow the plant is being put in jeopardy by attempts to renege on promises that Nigeria gave to foreign investors.
“It has enabled us to attract 15 billion dollars in foreign investment and grown LNG capacity from a two-train complex to a six-train plant,’’ the managing director said.
He advised the National Assembly against periodic attempts to amend the clear promises made to investors, saying that this would cost the country quite a lot.
“Apart from the immediate relocation of investments in excess of 25 billion dollars to other countries, Nigeria will also be opened to fines running into billions of dollars in International Courts,’’ Omotowa said.
He, however, appealed to the states with high deposits of solid mineral resources to partner the Federal Government on how to exploit the resources and operate the state on a business model.
This, he said, would make those states to be self-sufficient and financially independent of the centre. (NAN)
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