The Senate is not a court, Stakeholders urge incoming National Assembly
Stakeholders in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector have raised the alarm over a fresh threat being constituted to the business environment as a result of the Senate’s directive for Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) to pay N18.4 billion to host communities for the right of way (RoW) it acquired in 1989 for N73 million.
The stakeholders, who gathered at the Platforms Africa Forum 2022 in Lagos, maintained that the Senate lacked the power to order NLNG to pay N18.4 billion.
Partner, Bloomfield Law Practice, Dr. Ayodele Oni, who spoke from Houston, Texas, and the Keynote speaker, Barrister Jide Ologun, unanimously declared that the Senate’s power guaranteed by the constitution is enormous, but does not include giving an order to a company to pay the money within a stipulated time.
“The Senate is not a court. That right to order resides solely with the Court,” Ologun said.
“The 9th National Assembly has done well and sets a standard for the 10th Parliament to surpass. But one area the forthcoming Assembly should refrain from is giving a directive to companies. The recent directive to NLNG to pay N18.4bn within eight weeks is not within the powers of the Senate, ” Oni added.
Energy analyst, Tajudeen Adigun, who stated that Nigeria’s energy sector is suffering from the dearth of FDI with many companies folding up due to legislation, urged the 10th National Assembly to concentrate on making laws that will engender FDI.
“The Senate has the constitutional oversight function but in discharging this role, it must always consider the ease of doing business.
“The communities must be protected while companies deserve protection to succeed. The NLNG is a company bound by law and anyone enraged by the action or inaction of the company should approach a court for redress. Well, they can write a petition to the NASS and the parliament to have the right to accept the petition and look into it. But only the Court, not the NASS, has the right to make an order for a company to pay within a stipulated time. The bottom line is that the parliament should consider the ease of doing business in discharging its legislative duties.”
The Nigerian Senate had in September 2022, ordered the NLNG Limited to pay N18.4 billion on its acquired land for Right of Way (RoW) to 73 host communities and 200 families in Bonny, Rivers State, within two months.
The Senate, which had received a petition from the communities through its Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, confirmed that the NLNG actually paid N73 million in 1989 when it acquired the land for its right of way (RoW). It, notwithstanding, issued a directive that the NLNG has just two months to pay up.
The NLNG, in a statement issued a day after the Senate’s directives, simply said it was evaluating the resolution and circumstances surrounding it. It adds: “NLNG wishes to state that it has always conducted its business responsibly and in accordance with the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, including in this specific matter.”