The Nigerian Senate, on Wednesday, compelled Gas processing companies operating in the Niger Delta to pay a total of three percent of their annual budget to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
This followed the consideration and passage of the Niger Delta Development Commission Act, amendment Bill.
Senator Peter Nwaobushi, (Delta North), who sponsored the amendment, said the bill will improve the revenue and funding sources of the NDDC, to meet the financial challenges, which according to the Senate is threatening to cripple the operation of the commission and undermine its statutory mandate.
“The main objective of the bill is to amend section 14 of the Principal Act to improve the revenue and funding sources of the Niger Delta Development Commission to enable it meet financial challenges which are threatening to cripple the operations of the commission and undermine its statutory.
“Section 14 is amended to further impose a charge of 3 percent on this total annual budget of gas processing companies operating in the Niger Delta area excluding the cost of feed gas”, Nwaobushi said.
According to him, the amendment is in consonance with the observations and the argument of Senators during the debate on the general principles of the bill.
He said the committee also discovered that, “it is necessary to review the provisions of this section involved in order to rid it of ambiguities.
“That with the clarification of the provision of section 14(2) in this bill, gas processing companies will be compelled to contribute to this funding of NDDC”.
The Senate, however, amended section fourteen of the existing law to impose a charge of 3 percent on the total annual budget of gas processing companies, operating in the Niger Delta, excluding the cost of its gas.
The lawmakers hinged their decisions on the fact that, since the establishment of the NDDC, the gas process companies have not contributed any fund to its operations
President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, in his remarks, expressed hopes that the amendment would pull in more funds into the NDDC to help its operations and ease the sufferings of the people of Niger Delta.
The Bill which passed second reading on 28th November, 2017, was given an unprecedented accelerated passage, following the consideration of the report of the committee on NDDC presented by the sponsor of the Bill and Chairman of the Senate Committee on NDDC, Peter Nwaobushi.
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