Reps accuse NLNG of withholding document, firm replies with details

The House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the Nigeria LNG Train 7 project has accused the General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development of NLNG, Eyono Fatayi Williams, and her management team of withholding vital documents.

The Chairman of the House Committee, Hon. Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe, at the rescheduled investigative hearing on the matter on Tuesday, said the whole project management, including waste management and disposal of the project, is shrouded in secrecy,

The lawmaker, who demanded that the contract agreement signed by the contractor handling the project is made available to the committee immediately, also said the cost implication of waste management of the project be made available.

Jarigbe further demanded that the cost implication of the waste management of the Train 7 project be made available to the committee, stating that the committee has reviewed the Environmental Impact Assessment.

Another notable committee member, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, observed that some of the documents transmitted to the committee by the NLNG team weren’t signed or dated.

However, Saipem, contractors of the project team, represented by the Manager Stakeholder Relations and Analysis, Innocent Ogbu, and other officials told the lawmakers that the waste management scope for the project is reserved exclusively for the host community contractors and that contract for the project is based on lump sum and at this moment the cost implication is unknown and unclear as it has not even commenced.

Fatayi-Williams further said there is a standard waste management process for the NLNG project as a whole and the waste management plan and process for Train 7 project will be in line with the existing template for waste management.

She further added that NLNG produces 22 million metric tonnes of LNG every year and that the track record for waste management of the existing plant is with the relevant regulatory authorities at the Federal, State and Local Government levels since it started operation.

Nonetheless, still unsatisfied, Jarigbe immediately called for adjournment of the hearing while requesting for NLNG and Saipem to avail the committee with information on the cost implication papers and other relevant documents within the time that will be advised.