The Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited has proved to be Nigeria’s foremost cash cow as it paid the Federal Government dividends in excess of N63.2 billion in the 2020 financial year.

The Nigerian Federal Government received N144 billion as dividends from the NLNG in the fiscal year ended December 2020.

Despite 2020 being a very difficult year for the government as the COVID-19 induced fall in crude oil prices and the economic shutdown smashed projections and shrunk revenues, the dividends from NLNG shot up to 79% higher than the projected N80.3 billion.

The Minister of Finance, Dr Zainab Ahmed disclosed this during a presentation of her ministry’s Budget Implementation Report for January to December 2020 fiscal period.

The dividend received from the Nigeria LNG served as a major bright spot in the government’s revenue performance for the year.

According to Nairametrics, the Federal Government’s projected revenue of N5.36 trillion for 2020 witnessed a shortfall of N1.4 trillion or 27% for the year as it only received N3.9 trillion in revenues.

The huge dividend windfall received in 2020 is a stark contrast from 2017 when Nigeria just exited a recession triggered by falling oil prices and a sharp exchange rate devaluation.

In that year, the Federal Government’s share of dividends from Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) dropped by as much as $687 million, from $1.04 billion in 2015 to $365 million in 2016, a 65% drop.

The N144 billion received in 2020 topped the amount received from signature bonuses only N78.2 billion and complimented the N192 billion received by VAT. It is the most effective form of revenue generation for the government.

Regardless of this humongous dividend profile of the NLNG, which is jointly owned by Nigerian owned Nigerian National petroleum Corporation (NNPC) (49%), Shell (25.6%), Total (15%), and ENI (10.4%), the company’s primary host community, Bonny Island has been reported to be held in grips of sea pirates’ attacks.

The company is located in Bonny Island and has six trains with a total capacity to process 22 million tonnes of LNG a year and as much as 5 million tonnes of natural gas liquids.

NLNG currently accounts for about 7% of the total LNG supply in the world. Nigeria is ranked as the 4th exporter of Natural Gas in the world.

As the Federal Government targets an upshot of revenue to the tune of N208 billion from NLNG as dividends in 2021, which if materializes, will represent a significant payout in dividends competing with the N238.4 billion expected from VAT, stakeholders have called on the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration to prioritize the security of travelers and vessels utilizing the Bonny waterways.