The Federal Government has paid over $120 million from the $1.3 billion debt to gas suppliers, as part of efforts to improve gas production in the country.
Director of the Decade of Gas Secretariat, Ed Ubong made the disclosure during the 7th Edition of the Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES 2024) on Thursday.
He said the payment was to reduce some of the outstanding debts, adding that, as of 2023, gas producers were owed approximately $1.3 billion in arrears, yet from October through January 2024, the government has made payments exceeding $120 million.
During the session tagged, “From Blue Print to Reality: Navigating Nigeria’s Gas Decade and Balanced Narrative on Energy Transitions,” the director also disclosed that the government was developing a strategy to clear the remaining balance of the debt.
According to him, once the Obiafu/Obrikom/Oben (OB3) gas pipeline is completed, over 600 million scuffs of gas will become available on the network feeding into the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline.
“We must build a gas capacity. The engineers, the technicians that will work in this new gas sector that we are looking at for the next eight months.
“And at the Secretariat, we are committed to that. We are looking for interns, we are looking for young people who are willing to join us and then provide their time and energy supporting bigger goals of the sector,” he said.
Also speaking at the session, the President of the Nigerian Gas Association (NGA), Akachukwu Nwokedi, frowned at the impact of multiple taxes, levies, and current policy regulations on the cost of conducting business.
Nwokedi emphasised the need to end the practice of multiple taxations, while also urging the government to harmonise taxes to foster business growth and attract investment.
“These have to stop and the approach needs to be harmonised and streamlined to enable businesses and encourage investment.
“We can also learn from countries like Australia and others that are very deliberate in implementing friendly policies. We need policies that will enhance Foreign Direct Investment in the gas space,” Nwokedi.
