By Rareview News Report
President Bola Tinubu has urged the Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) to intensify efforts to reduce gas flaring and ensure that the country’s vast gas reserves translate into tangible economic benefits for Nigerians.
Tinubu gave the charge on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, when he received the NLNG Board and executive management, led by the company’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Engr. Adeleye Falade, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The meeting was attended by senior government officials, including Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris; Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga; and Senior Special Assistant to the President on Energy Transition, Yasmin Mohammed.
Other members of the NLNG delegation included Deputy Managing Director Olakunle Osobu; Board Director and Managing Director of TotalEnergies EP Nigeria Limited, Matthieu Bouyer; Board Director, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Nigeria Agip Exploration, Maurizio Pinna; and NLNG General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development, Sophia Horsfall.
Tinubu said his administration was particularly concerned about increasing the domestic utilisation of gas and converting gas currently being flared from an environmental liability into an economic resource.
“I am inspired to understand that you are not limiting yourself to the gradual objective of upgrading,” the President said.
“My major concern is the domestic utilisation, where you must be able to take out the flaring and convert potential environmental liability to what could be strategically and economically beneficial to the consumers in the country.”
While commending NLNG for increasing its capacity and taking advantage of international markets, Tinubu urged the company to ensure that Nigerians also benefit more directly from the country’s gas wealth.
“Yes, you are doing great to really want the revenue up and taking advantage of international interests so that Nigeria might be deriving benefits, but help us back home,” he said.
The President assured the NLNG management that the Federal Government would support measures capable of unlocking the company’s potential and expanding its contribution to the economy.
“I enjoy the teamwork and the way the NLNG is going, and you all, as team leaders, are giving value to what was the initial objective of the company,” Tinubu said.
“If any other incentive is needed to stimulate growth and expand your capacity, I will be willing to do that.”
He stressed that Nigeria could not afford to leave its natural resources untapped, arguing that gas assets would only become valuable when deployed to improve the economy and welfare of citizens.
“We look straight far into the future, and I believe that this country has what it takes; but whatever asset that we have in the ground is nothing unless it’s brought up to service the economy, the people, and realisation of a good return on investment,” he said.
“I think that is the primary focus. But think of people, the need for domestication of some of these energy requirements and pricing mechanisms so that the ordinary man will feel it.”
NLNG: $150bn generated since inception
Briefing the President, Falade said NLNG had generated more than $150 billion since inception, while shareholders, including the Nigerian government, had received about $47 billion in dividends. Nigeria holds a 49 per cent stake in the company.
Falade explained that NLNG had previously operated at about 60 per cent capacity because inadequate crude oil production limited the company to four of its six available production trains.
He said increased crude oil production had now enabled NLNG to raise operations to five trains, with further improvements expected.
The NLNG chief executive also disclosed that all the company’s LPG, commonly known as cooking gas, was currently being supplied to the domestic market.
“100 per cent of our cooking gas in Nigeria comes into the Nigerian market. And nothing is going to change from that,” Falade said.
He told the President that NLNG was preparing to inaugurate Train 7, which is expected to increase the company’s capacity by 35 per cent. The project is also expected to strengthen Nigeria’s position in the global LNG market.
Falade said NLNG currently has about five per cent of the global LNG market and would continue to expand its contribution to Nigeria’s energy security and economy.
He also said the company’s shareholders had commended the stability of the country’s fiscal environment, which he said was attracting additional investment.
The NLNG boss commended security agencies and regulators in the oil and gas sector for contributing to the stability of the industry.
Bonny-Bodo Road ready for commissioning
Falade further informed Tinubu that the Bonny-Bodo Road and Bridge project, financed by NLNG, had been completed and was awaiting official commissioning.
The project is expected to improve connectivity between Bonny Island and neighbouring communities in Rivers State and facilitate economic activities in the area.
The meeting underscored the Federal Government’s growing emphasis on gas as a major component of Nigeria’s energy and economic development strategy, with Tinubu stressing that greater attention must be paid not only to gas exports and revenue generation but also to domestic utilisation and affordability.
The President’s message was essentially that Nigeria’s gas wealth must translate into value for the wider economy and ordinary Nigerians, rather than remain an underutilised or flared resource.