A chaotic session took place in the National Assembly on Thursday as the Senate and House of Representatives’ joint committee investigated the $4.451 billion Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG) Project 7.
The committees held two private meetings with NLNG officials, led by Project Director Ali Uwais, and the project’s contractors after the officials failed to provide the necessary information. The committees decided to formally request the required documents and data from NLNG and to stop any further changes to the project contract.
The hearing drew a large number of lawmakers due to the heated atmosphere that has disrupted the investigation from the start.
The conflict began when Uwais presented a document that lawmakers criticized for lacking detailed information. Senator Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe, chair of the joint committee, expressed frustration over a clause in the document stating that the figures were disputed and subject to ongoing negotiations, making them unusable for the investigation.
After a heated exchange, the committee entered a closed session, returning an hour later to allow journalists back in. Lawmakers then criticized NLNG and the contractors for not providing crucial information.
Key issues included the original contract sum of $4.372 billion and limited details on the 99 variation requests worth $177.89 million, 62 approved variation orders totaling $43.77 million, and approved amendments worth $35 million. Uwais blamed contract changes on foreign exchange rate fluctuations and informed the committee of five ongoing variation requests amounting to $7.61 million.
On the project’s status, Uwais reported, “The overall progress of the project is at 67 percent completion, with engineering at 97.9 percent, procurement at 95.5 percent, and construction at 52.5 percent.”
Victoria Ibiama
