The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on Sunday denied reports that it intends to relocate the headquarters of its subsidiary, the Nigerian Gas Company (NGC), from the Niger Delta to another location.
The NNPC faulted a statement attributed to the deputy president of Nigeria’s Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, in which he allegedly condemned intentions by the NNPC to relocate the NGC’s headquarters from the Niger Delta region.
“While calling on the NGC host communities and other stakeholders to disregard the relocation tale which it described as totally false, the Corporation maintained that the Deputy President of the Senate may have either been misinformed or was quoted out of context noting that the subject of relocation of NGC was never on the table for deliberation by the NNPC management,” the NNPC said on its official Twitter account.
The NNPC further assured host communities and other stakeholders that its focus is to ensure an amicable relationship between both parties to guarantee a win-win situation for every entity involved.
In 2016, a militant group called the Niger Delta Avengers carried out a series of attacks on oil installations in the Niger Delta region causing a drop in Nigeria’s crude production by nearly a third. Other mitigating factors, such as low oil prices, saw Nigeria plunge into recession for the first time in 25 years.
The group, which opposed President Muhammadu Buhari’s reelection campaign, wants its area to receive a greater share of oil revenue it produces.
The Nigerian government negotiated with the militants in 2016 and 2017 regarding their complaints about poverty and oil pollution in the Delta. The group agreed to a ceasefire in August 2016 but called it off November.
No major attacks have been perpetrated by any groups in the Delta region since January 2017.
