President Bola Tinubu has directed the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) to ensure that the proposed National Gas Infrastructure Command Centre (NGCC) is executed strictly under a public-private partnership (PPP) framework.
Gatekeepers News reports that according to a statement issued by the commission on Monday, the project will be fully financed by the private sector, with no public funding or contingent liabilities for the federal government.
Jobson Ewalefoh, director-general of the ICRC, made this known during the inaugural meeting of the NGCC project steering committee. He said the commission would ensure strict compliance with the president’s approval and established PPP guidelines.
Ewalefoh emphasised that the NGCC — conceived as a strategic platform for real-time monitoring and coordination of Nigeria’s gas infrastructure — must be funded entirely by the private proponent, without recourse to government funds or sovereign guarantees.
“Technology alone does not guarantee viability. Automation in itself does not make a project bankable. Every proposal must pass through a structured PPP framework that rigorously tests feasibility, risk allocation, affordability and sustainability before implementation proceeds,” Ewalefoh said.
“Public interest, value for money, financial prudence and strict regulatory compliance will guide every stage of this process.”
He added that while the NGCC is strategically important to Nigeria’s energy framework, its relevance does not exempt it from disciplined project preparation and strict regulatory safeguards.
Project Structure and Oversight
The statement said the NGCC, approved as a PPP initiative, is designed to provide centralised operational coordination across Nigeria’s gas value chain, enhance emergency response management, and improve transparency in gas infrastructure operations.
On February 26, Ekperikpe Ekpo, minister of state for petroleum resources (gas), inaugurated the project steering committee and the joint technical working group to drive implementation in line with the president’s directive.
Members of the steering committee include representatives from the ministry of petroleum resources (gas), the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.), the ICRC, and the project promoter.
The joint technical working group comprises technical, legal, and institutional representatives from relevant government agencies and the private proponent. The team is tasked with advancing preparatory processes in line with PPP regulatory requirements.
