Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has pledged the continued support of his administration for the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas in order to boost the country’s economy.
He gave the assurance on Wednesday while receiving the new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NLNG, Mr. Adeleye Falade, during a courtesy visit at Government House, Port Harcourt.
He said the success of the NLNG is the success of the government of Rivers State and the the Federal Government of Nigeria.
He also assured that his administration will continue to contribute it’s own quota in support of the NLNG.
“Our duty is to make sure that we support whoever is operating in our state. We are the ones here. If we don’t support you and you don’t succeed, we also will not succeed and Mr President will also not succeed.
“So the success of your establishment is the success of our state, and overall success of Nigeria. So you can count on our support. Wherever you think we need to come in to support you, please do not hesitate to call upon us.
“You just mentioned here that your predecessor left a handover note showcasing the level of support that he got from the state. It is not going to be different in your own case. I can assure you that. I will also ensure that other units of the government will liaise with you when necessary. So even if you can’t get to me, you can always get to them and if there is anything we can do to help your establishment succeed, we will do it for you,” he added.
He attributed the sustained success of Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited to the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model adopted at the company’s inception.
Highlighting the structure of the company, he noted that NLNG is jointly owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) with a 49 per cent stake, Shell Gas B.V. with 25.6 per cent, Total LNG Nigeria Ltd with 15 per cent, and Eni International with 10.4 per cent.
He explained that the arrangement has enabled effective risk-sharing, cost management, and the deployment of technical expertise critical to the company’s operations.
He observed that NLNG has demonstrated resilience and recorded steady growth despite operating in a challenging business environment over the past three decades.
According to him, the Federal Government’s decision to entrust operational control to multinational oil companies with proven expertise, while retaining a supervisory role, has been instrumental to the company’s stability and long-term success.
He added:”I’m very proud to say that if there is one establishment that has shown resilience, that has survived in the face of all the political issues prevalent in this country, it is the NLNG. And what is the reason? The reason is very simple. Government has no business in business. That is the truth. Leave the business for those people who can operate it. Let the government play its supervisory role to ensure that there is compliance with the laws; ensure that standards are maintained and also ensure that the right people with the needed expertise are at the helm of affairs. That’s all. I think that is the reason why we still record a lot of successes in NLNG.”
Speaking, the new CEO of the NLNG, Mr Adeleye Falade, expressed appreciation for the audience granted them and appealed to the Rivers Government to continue to support the organisation.
“We appreciate the opportunity to meet with you and deepen this important relationship.We deeply value the support the Rivers State Government continues to extend in fostering an enabling operating environment for businesses. NLNG remains deliberate in its contribution to Nigeria’s development, and Rivers State, our primary host, continues to be central to that commitment,” he said.
He stated that the company has continued to work with its host communities to strengthen their capacity to identify, prioritise, and deliver sustainable development initiatives that create lasting impact.
According to him, communities including Amadi-ama, Abua, Ekpeye, Okrika, Kalabari, and Emohua have continued to benefit from this model.
He emphasized that beyond community infrastructure, the NLNG has sustained investments in economic empowerment through initiatives such as Vocational Innovation and Business Empowerment Scheme (VIBES) and Micro Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) schemes, stressing that they were designed to support small businesses, build capacity, and stimulate local enterprise across the state.