2-IN-1 STORY: Cash Crunch: NEC To End JV Funding Regime Today; NASS Accused Of Trying To Amend NLNG Act ‘To Pave Way For Sale’

The National Economic Council (NEC) will meet today to consider approving a policy that will end the payment of cash calls.

Daily Trust report continues:

A highly placed government official confirmed to our correspondent that the Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu, will present the policy to NEC today.

The meeting, scheduled to hold at 11.00am inside the Council Chambers of the Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja, will be presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

The official told our correspondent that President Muhammadu Buhari had already given an anticipatory approval for cessation of cash calls’ payment.

Cash calls is the counterpart funding which the Federal Government, represented by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), annually pays as its 60 percent equity shareholding in various oil and gas fields operated by international oil companies and indigenous oil firms.

The decision to stop the payment of cash calls, according to the source, is due to the current cash crunch confronting the Federal Government.

The source, who pleaded anonymity, explained that the Federal Government had in recent times been struggling to pay cash calls, “especially because of the shortfall in revenues occasioned by the fall in the global price of oil.”

He said as of December last year, the Federal Government cash calls debt was $6 billion which, he explained, had accumulated over the years.

“It is understandable that the government is finding it difficult to pay cash calls because of the shortfall in revenue, but the immediate past government should be questioned for not paying it when the price of oil was as much as US$100 per barrel.

“One major advantage the Federal Government will gain from this policy is that the country will be able to save billions of dollars that would have been used for cash calls payment,” the source stated.

National Assembly Accused Of Trying To Amend NLNG Act ‘To Pave Way For Sale’

TheCable reports that the Committee for the Defence of National Interests (CODNI), a non-governmental organization, has alleged that the national assembly is hurriedly amending the Act establishing the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) to pave the way for its sale.

In a statement by Zach Ezoh, CODNI national coordinator, the group said it had information that federal legislators had perfected plans to hurriedly amend the NLNG Act on Thursday.

“We wish to alert the general public about this invidious plot and to call on patriotic members of the national assembly to rise to the occasion and prevent this looming economic catastrophe as it will further compound the country’s woes,” the statement read.

The group warned the lawmakers not to do anything to tamper with the NLNG Act, describing an attempt to do so as a miscalculation which would effectively “kill the goose that lays the golden egg” for the country’s economy.

“We wish to appeal to the conscience of our lawmakers not to allow this economic tragedy to befall our dear nation. It is said that you do not change a winning strategy,” it said.

“The NLNG as it presently is has proved to be a roaring success. There is, therefore, no cogent reason to tamper with the Act establishing this national cash cow.”

CODNI said NLNG, which was incorporated after over 30 years of unsuccessful efforts by successive Nigerian administrations to attract foreign investors in the LNG sector, has been an outstanding success.

“From the initial investment of US$6.0 billion at its incorporation on May 17, 1989, the NLNG now has an asset base of over US$11 billion, generated over US$90 billion in revenues and has contributed over US$15 billion to the Nigerian government in dividends over the last 12 years,” the organization said.