President Bola Tinubu has directed the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) to ensure the National Gas Infrastructure Command Centre (NGCC) is delivered strictly under a public-private partnership (PPP) model.
The commission said the project will be fully funded by the private sector, with no public funding, sovereign guarantees or contingent liabilities for the federal government.
Speaking at the inaugural meeting of the NGCC project steering committee, Jobson Ewalefoh, director-general of the ICRC, stressed that presidential approval came with firm conditions.
He said the NGCC conceived as a real-time national platform for monitoring and coordinating Nigeria’s gas infrastructure must comply with established PPP procedures before implementation.
“Technology alone does not guarantee viability. Automation does not make a project bankable,” Ewalefoh said.
“Every proposal must pass through a structured PPP framework that rigorously tests feasibility, risk allocation, affordability and sustainability.”
He added that public interest, value for money and financial discipline would guide the process.
The NGCC is designed to centralise operational coordination across Nigeria’s gas value chain, strengthen emergency response systems and enhance transparency in gas infrastructure management.
On February 26, Ekperikpe Ekpo, minister of state for petroleum resources (gas), inaugurated the steering committee and a joint technical working group to advance implementation.
The committee includes representatives from the petroleum ministry (gas), the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, the ICRC and the project promoter.
The technical working group is tasked with ensuring compliance with PPP regulatory requirements before the project moves forward.
