General
NCDMB Postpones Kwale Gas Facility Commissioning
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has postponed the technical commissioning of the 300MMscfd capacity Kwale Gas Gathering and injection facility due to the indefinite nationwide strike directed by the leadership of the organised labour.
In a statement dated Sunday, it said the formal commissioning ceremony of the facility, slated to be performed by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Mr Ekperikpe Ekpo on Thursday, June 6, 2024, has been put on hold due to the commencement of the nationwide strike by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC).
Recall that the leadership of the Organised Labour said there was no going back on the nationwide industrial action on Monday.
“For now, we don’t have the power to call off the strike, tomorrow (Monday) morning, the strike will kick off as we take their (NASS) plea asking us to call off the strike to our various organs,” the TUC president, Mr Festus Osifo, said after a meeting with the leadership of the National Assembly (NASS) on Sunday nigher.
The 300MMscfd Capacity Kwale Gas Gathering (KGG) and injection facility in the Niger Delta, is a project by a Joint Venture company between Xenergi Limited and NCDMB Capacity Development Intervention Company, Nedogas Development Company Limited (NDCL), in collaboration with the NNPC Gas Infrastructure Company (NGIC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.
It was designed to handle stranded gas resources in Nigeria’s OML 56 oil province, by providing the opportunity for independent operators in the area to monetise natural gas from their fields through the gas gathering, compression, injection and metering infrastructure of the KGG for quick market access.
The KGG hub, which has been tied into the NGIC-owned and operated 48-inch OB-3 gas trunk line, is now fully commissioned with gas injection capacity, totalling approximately 50 MMscfd comprising 20MMscfd from the Nedogas Plant, located 3km away in Energia’s Ebendo field and another 30 MMscfd coming from the Matsogo field operated by Chorus Energy Limited. Injected gas volumes are gradually and steadily being ramped up.
The project represents a significant milestone in Nigeria’s decade of gas initiative and a major achievement in the quest to provide gas into the OB3 trunk line and monetise natural gas resources from the OML 56 producer cluster.
With the successful injection of gas from the Energia/Oando JV and the Chorus-operated Ebendo and Matsogo fields respectively into the OB3, the KGG Facility will receive additional gas from nearby fields including those operated by First Hydrocarbon Nigeria (FHN), Pillar Oil, and Midwestern Oil & Gas, all aimed at positioning KGG as a fully-fledged gas-gathering facility and hub with single point injection of up to 300 MMscfd of gas into the OB3 via the KGG tie-in.
The plan is to expand the capacity of the KGG facility to 600 MMscfd in the second phase.
In addition to the gas delivery obligations of the facility, the KGG will also be supplying the Delta State Economic Zone (DSEZ) from an integrated supply node within the manifold at the hub.
Speaking about the project, the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Mr Felix Ogbe, enthused that the success story of NEDOGAS at Kwale, Delta State, could be replicated in other oil- and gas-producing communities to minimise gas flaring. He declared the board’s readiness to continue collaborating with the company.
“Their model should be extended to other parts of the country where gas flaring is continuing. They have shown that with the modular system, we can quickly remove flaring from our operations in Nigeria.”
The Managing Director of NDCL, Mr Debo Fagbami, explained that with the completion of the first phase of the KGG facility, the proof-of-concept to readily monetise gas has now been established to the extent of eradicating the pain of seeing an invaluable resource being wasted.
Rather than just being concerned about ending gas flaring, Mr Ogbe said the project presents opportunities to harness the potential of the flare sites from these oilfields, which according to him, will ultimately convert a “wasting” resource into an economic asset used to generate cleaner energy.
With an estimated 180 billion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves, Nigeria has the ninth-largest concentration in the world.
However, the country continues to flare significant quantities of its associated gas, which has relegated the health and environmental well-being of Nigerians to the background for over 60 years.
Mr Ogbe added that the KGG facility will create hundreds of direct and indirect jobs for indigenes of the host and nearby communities.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has confirmed the collapse of five transmission towers along the Ikot Abasi–Eket 132kV Double Circuit Transmission Line.
This was attributed to severe acts of vandalism, as TCN disclosed that the structure collapsed after vandals removed critical structural bracing members.
The affected towers were N9, J4, N10, N11 and N12, the organisation said in a statement on Friday.
It explained that the extensive damage was discovered during a routine joint line patrol conducted on August 9, 2026, by TCN linesmen.
Further inspection revealed that structural members from seven additional towers along the same transmission corridor had also been removed and stolen. The towers, J3, N8, N13, N14, N15, N18 and N19, are now structurally compromised and pose a risk of further collapse.
TCN condemned this act of sabotage and reiterated its commitment to working hard to maintain a robust and reliable national grid.
The statement said that to mitigate the impact on electricity supply, the network has been reconfigured to prioritise supply to Ekim transmission station, leaving Ibom Power as the only station without supply.
TCN said it is mobilising an urgent intervention to complete the reconstruction of the affected sections of the line, with security agencies also notified to aid investigations and prevent further acts of vandalism along the line route.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Tajudeen Abbas, has urged all relevant government agencies to promptly initiate actions for the full implementation of the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency Act, 2026, following its signing into law by President Bola Tinubu.
The bill, sponsored by Speaker Abbas, was aimed at repealing the Nigerian Shippers’ Council Act, Cap. N133, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and establish the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency to ensure effective economic regulation of Nigerian ports while safeguarding the interests of shippers, service providers, and users of regulated port services. With the President’s assent, it has now been enacted as an Act of Parliament.
The legislation represents one of the landmark achievements of the 10th National Assembly. It reflects the Speaker’s commitment to legislative excellence, institutional reform, and sustainable economic growth, according to a press statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Speaker, Mr Musa Krishi.
The bill underwent a rigorous and inclusive legislative process, including extensive stakeholder consultations and a public hearing. It was passed by both Chambers of the National Assembly and subsequently assented to by the President.
The Act provides a robust legal and institutional framework to ensure effective economic regulation of Nigerian ports by fostering transparency, competitiveness, and efficiency in port operations; protecting the rights and interests of shippers, service providers, and other port users; and aligning Nigeria’s port regulatory system with global best practices, thereby enhancing the ease and cost-effectiveness of doing business.
Despite receiving presidential assent, the Act has yet to be fully operationalised.
He warned that any further delay would undermine the legislative intent of the reform, prolong the exposure of port users to arbitrary charges and operational inefficiencies, and deny the nation the anticipated benefits of increased revenue, improved trade facilitation, and stronger investor confidence in the marine and blue economy sector.
The Speaker urged the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, in collaboration with all relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the federal government, to take the necessary administrative, institutional, and financial measures for the prompt implementation of the Act.
He said this should include the formal transition to, as well as operational empowerment of, the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency to discharge its statutory mandate effectively.
The full implementation of the Act is critical to unlocking the economic potential of Nigeria’s ports, reducing the cost of doing business, strengthening trade competitiveness, and positioning Nigeria as the leading maritime and logistics hub in West and Central Africa.
The statement noted that the Speaker reaffirmed the 10th House’s commitment to exercising the necessary legislative oversight to ensure this landmark legislation, along with others assented to by the President, is fully implemented and achieves its intended goals for the benefit of the Nigerian people.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Federal Ministry of Youth Development (FMYD), through the Nigerian Youth Academy (NiYA), has partnered with Cascador, a Nigeria-focused platform for growth-stage founders, to provide funding and support for the next generation of Nigerian youth entrepreneurs.
The announcement coincides with International Youth Day 2026, whose global theme this year — Different Contexts, Common Aspirations — calls on institutions to close the gap between young people’s circumstances and their opportunities. The pilot is an early step toward NiYA’s broader ambition to train and empower 7 million Nigerian youth within two years.
The NiYA and Cascador Founders Programme will begin with a pilot cohort of 20 early-stage Nigerian youth founders, including entrepreneurs without formal business registration or established financial records.
Over four weeks, participants will undergo intensive training focused on business fundamentals, investment readiness and pitch preparation. At the end of the programme, the eight top-performing founders will receive non-dilutive funding of up to N5 million each from Cascador, alongside an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution to help them structure, manage and scale their businesses.
The funding and support will be presented at a Pitch Day organised by NiYA and the Federal Ministry of Youth Development.
The Minister for Youth Development, Mr s Ayodele Olawande, said the partnership would enable NiYA to move beyond training by helping young people transform ideas into investable businesses and achieve sustainable economic participation through business preparation and access to capital.
“The pilot is deliberately designed to test a model that can go beyond one cohort. If young founders can be identified early, prepared properly, connected to credible capital and supported to build stronger business systems, then access to opportunity becomes less dependent on background or existing networks. That is the larger objective: to build a youth entrepreneurship ecosystem in which readiness, ideas and execution can increasingly determine who gets the opportunity to grow.”
The pilot will run in-person in Abuja with virtual touchpoints and 1:1 mentorship. All 20 graduates retain NiYA alumni status, with priority consideration for future opportunities.
NiYA and FMYD have already shown what real commitment to Nigeria’s youth looks like — the platforms, the reach, the ambition to train millions. What we’re building together now is the missing piece, a practical bridge from the ideation stage to real capital-readiness. When a Ministry so dedicated to its young people asked Cascador to help build that bridge, it was an easy decision,” said Trish Thomas, CEO of Cascador.
Ms Oyin Solebo, COO of Cascador and former Managing Director of the ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator, highlighted the partnership’s impact, saying, “This is what innovative capital deployment looks like: a government building real investment readiness at scale, and a partner meeting that foundational work with non-dilutive funding at exactly the moment it’s needed. Partnerships like this open doors that neither of us could open alone.”
