The former vice president, Mr Atiku Abubakar, has taken the federal government to task, asking it to explain why Oando Plc got an accelerated approval to buy the onshore assets of the Italian oil firm, Eni, ahead of other transactions such as the Shell/Renaissance deal and the Mobil/Seplat transaction.
Atiku’s enquiry is contained in a statement by its spokesman, Mr Phrank Shaibu.
He alleged that Oando owned by President Bola Tinubu‘s nephew, Wale Tinubu, was being given undue and preferential treatment in the oil and gas sector to the detriment of more competent investors.
“Within just eight months, the Nigerian Upstream Production Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) approved a deal which saw the divestment of ENI/AGIP onshore assets to Oando.
“Within that same period, Nigeria controversially withdrew all litigation against Shell/ENI in the OPL 245 scandal in what has been described as a quid pro quo.
“However, the attempt by Seplat to buy Mobil’s onshore assets has continued to stall for the last three years even as the consent letter remains on Tinubu’s table.
“The deal between Renaissance and Shell continues to stall. In fact, the only deal that has fully scaled through so far is the one involving Oando. We now know why it got accelerated approval,” the statement said.
Atiku also slammed the Tinubu administration for implementing a sham subsidy regime as revealed in the financial statement recently released by the NNPC.
“Tinubu visited the FMDQ in New York, visited Qatar, visited France where he told lies about removing petrol subsidies.
“Obviously, this is not a man who is serious about attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). More worrisome is that he is not even brave enough to admit that subsidy is being paid. The NNPC admits that N7.8 trillion is owed to the national oil company by the Nigerian government.
“The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that subsidy payments this year will constitute 3 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is about $7.5 billion. This will be about N11.8 trillion.
“Yet, the petrol scarcity continues to linger while the Tinubu administration continues to frustrate the Dangote Refinery and even its own NNPC facilities.
“Obviously, the subsidy regime has become an even wider conduit through which monies for funding the 2027 election will come from,” he added.
Atiku stated that democracy ought to be the government of the people, for the people, and by the people, but maintained that democracy in Nigeria had become the government of Tinubu, by Tinubu, and for Tinubu and his family members.
In July 2023, he said the House of Representatives, following the adoption of a motion moved by Miriam Onuoha directed NNPC to suspend the acquisition of OVH assets pending an investigation by its committee.
Despite this order and several others, Atiku argued that the NNPC ignored and went ahead to transfer its ownership and properties in its retail arm to OVH, thereby mortgaging the future of Nigerians.
“Despite the rot in the oil sector, the head of the NNPC, the head of the NUPRC, and the head of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) continue to keep their jobs. This is clear evidence that they are fulfilling the mandate given to them by Tinubu,” Atiku added.
Furthermore, Atiku pointed out that the NNPC lied in its response to his statement last week, as it is on record that the Mele Kyari-led management appointed Huub Stoksman, a former chief executive officer of OVH Energy, as managing director of NNPC Retail.
Also, he pointed out that the former chief operating officer of OVH Energy, Mumuni Dangazau, became his special adviser downstream, long before the consummation of what he said was the incestuous marriage of the entities.
