Senate issues seven-day ultimatum to NLNG over alleged failure to pay N18bn compensation

The Senate has issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited over alleged failure to compensate 73 host communities in Rivers State with N18bn.

This summons was issued on Wednesday by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, who clarified that the agency must appear before the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions.

Lawan’s mandate came in the aftermath of a petition filed by one Chief Enyinna Onuegbu on behalf of the communities located in Obiafu, Soku to Bonny, respectively.

In his statement, the Senate President said, “Instead of just saying NLNG should go and pay N18bn, and at the end of the day nothing happens, let us give NLNG one more chance and this should be by the Senate itself, not our committee.

“I am sure NLNG is listening. NLNG should appear within one week before our Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions with their evidence of compensation.

“If they fail, then the Senate will make a decision on NLNG in this respect.”

READ ALSO: NLNG generated $114bn for Nigeria – Buhari

Corroborating Lawan’s stance, the Committee Chairman Senator Ayo Akinyelure, said, “Following the incorporation of the NLNG, it acquired landed properties in Rivers State in 1996, spanning over 210km, for use as its pipelines Right of Way, which ended at the export terminal of the NLNG in Finima Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State.

“There were over 73 communities and over 200 families whose hitherto agrarian source of livelihood was negatively impacted upon by the said acquisition.

“NLNG neither proved nor showed evidence to the committee that it paid compensation to the 73 communities for loss of use of their land to pipelines ROW; and that there was no Memorandum of Understanding signed between the communities and NLNG on future obligations in the name of Corporate Social Responsibility with the impacted communities.

“The communities were claiming the sum of N18,448,842,500.00, being compensation for the loss of use of their land as of May 2020,” he said.

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