The Senate has called on Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited to ensure the judicious use of $43 million allocated for human capital development projects. This amount represents 1% of the $4.3 billion Train-7 project value.
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Content, made the call during an interactive session with NLNG, NCDMB, Saipem Contracting Limited, and Daewoo Engineering & Construction. She emphasized the need for transparency and effective utilization of the funds to benefit Nigerians and enhance the country’s human capacity development and institutional strengthening.
The senator stressed that 60% of the $43 million ($25.8 million) should be allocated to learning institutions nationwide, from primary to tertiary levels. She also highlighted the infrastructure deficit in Nigeria’s primary and secondary schools, citing a UBEC report that indicates over 40,000 classrooms are in deplorable conditions.
Akpoti-Uduaghan encouraged NLNG to support UBEC’s efforts to provide better educational facilities. She also noted discrepancies in reported figures for the NLNG Train-7 project and emphasized the importance of collaboration between the Senate Committee, NLNG, and NCDMB to establish a framework for selecting public institutions to benefit from the program.
The effective utilization of these funds is expected to positively impact the country’s human capacity development and institutional strengthening, addressing issues like out-of-school children and improving learning structures in public institutions.