Management of Nigeria LNG says the passage of a bill for the amendment of its act by the House of Representatives is not in national interest.
The company notes that the Federal House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bill for the amendment of the NLNG (Fiscal Incentives, Guarantees and Assurances) Act.
Dr Kudo Eresia-Eke, General Manager, External Relations Division of the company, said in a statement in Port Harcourt on Tuesday that the direct consequence of the move would project the country as an unsuitable destination for investments.
“The amendment violates the Assurances and Guarantees granted the investors by the country, and reinforced by successive governments, which paved the way for the huge international investment that enabled the company to become a reality and the success story it is today,” he said.
According to him, the main thrust of the Guarantees and Assurances were to assure the foreign investors that their investments would be protected by the non-amendment of the NLNG Act.
“ This is the reason why the NLNG Act has remained intact and protected by all administrations from inception, in recognition of the sanctity thereof,” he said.
The statement also quoted the company`s Managing Director, Tony Attah, as saying that the proposed amendment “ could only be a direct attack on the present administration`s ease of doing business agenda.
Attah also said that the amendment would affect investments flow into the country.
“ This curious amendment initiative represents the first time in the history of legislative practice in Nigeria, when a law is amended for the sole purpose of imposing a levy against a private company for the benefit of an agency of government,” Eresia-Eke said.
Eresia-Eke urged the National Assembly not to inadvertently lend itself to the establishment of unjust and damaging precedent.
He said a government Agency seeking for the amendment had lost its claim in court, including the Supreme Court.
He stated that shareholders and NLNG had the right to pursue the protection of their business interest stipulated by the law.
“NLNG wishes to state that should the need arise it shall seek that protection under the law,” Eresia-Eke said. (NAN)