Clarify Oando’s quick approval in AGIP/ENI purchase, Atiku tells FG

 

The 2023 Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has challenged the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government to clarify how Oando Plc, owned by President Bola Tinubu’s nephew, received accelerated approval to acquire the onshore assets of AGIP and ENI.

In a statement released on Thursday, Oando PLC announced the successful completion of its acquisition of 100% of Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited’s shares.

It read, “Today marks a significant milestone for Oando PLC as we proudly announce the finalization of our agreement with Eni to acquire the entire shareholding of Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited (NAOC Ltd).”

In a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku accused Oando of receiving unfair and preferential treatment in the oil and gas sector, which he claimed harmed more capable investors.

The statement read in part, “Former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, has asked the Federal Government to explain why Oando Plc, owned by the President’s nephew, got an accelerated approval to buy the onshore assets of AGIP and ENI while other transactions such as the Shell/Renaissance deal and the Mobil/Seplat continue to suffer delays.

“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 FDI. More worrisome is that he is not even brave enough to admit that the subsidy is being paid. The NNPCL admits that N7.8tn is owed to the national oil company by the Nigerian government.

“IMF estimates that subsidy payments this year will constitute 3% of GDP, which is about $7.5bn. This will be about N11.8tn. Yet, the petrol scarcity continues to linger while the Tinubu administration continues to frustrate the Dangote Refinery and even its own NNPCL facilities. Obviously, the subsidy regime has become an even wider conduit pipe through which monies for funding the 2027 election will come.

“The former Vice President doubled down on his allegation that Oando was being given undue and preferential treatment in the oil and gas sector to the detriment of more competent investors.”

Atiku also condemned the House of Representatives for failing to act properly on the NNPCL, which has allegedly moved to “mortgage the country’s national oil assets to vested interests.”

The statement read, “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.

“Ideally, democracy ought to be government of the people, for the people, and by the people. But democracy in Nigeria has become the government of Tinubu, by Tinubu, and for Tinubu and his family members.”

Atiku noted that in July 2023, the House of Representatives, following a motion by Miriam Onuoha, instructed NNPC Ltd to halt the acquisition of OVH assets until its committee completed an investigation.

According to the former Vice President, the committee requested detailed information from NNPC Ltd, including registration documents, board resolutions, audited financial statements, management accounts, and evidence of tax payments.

He alleged that despite these requests, NNPC ignored them and proceeded with transferring ownership and properties in its retail arm to OVH, thus compromising the future of Nigerians.

The statement added, “Despite the rot in the oil sector, the head of the NNPC, the head of the NUPRC, and the head of the NMDPRA continue to keep their jobs. This is clear evidence that they are fulfilling the mandate given to them by Tinubu.

“Furthermore, Atiku pointed out that the NNPC lied in its vacuous response to their statement last week, as it is on record that the Kyari-led management appointed Huub Stoksman, a former Chief Executive Officer of OVH Energy, as Managing Director of NNPC Retail, and Mumuni Dangazau, the former Chief Operating Officer of OVH Energy, as his Special Adviser Downstream, long before the consummation of the incestuous marriage of the entities.”

In a related development, Atiku criticised the Tinubu administration for allegedly increasing human rights abuses.

He accused Tinubu of betraying his claims of being a freedom fighter by allowing the DSS, police, and military to violate citizens’ rights without accountability.

The former vice president also argued that the Cyber Crime Prevention Act 2015 had been misused by Tinubu’s officials to detain citizens, with the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC) effectively becoming a replacement for the disbanded SARS.

Atiku added, “The dangerous trend of enforced disappearances has become a national embarrassment for a country which claims to be practising democracy. On May 1, 2024, Daniel Ojukwu of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism went missing and was presumed abducted by kidnappers until he was later discovered to be in police custody on the orders of IGP Kayode Egbetokun.

“Ojukwu’s crime was that he exposed the corruption of a government official who currently serves in Tinubu’s administration. On July 23, the DSS arrested one Aliyu Sanusi in Sama Road of Sokoto, the state capital for printing and distributing materials ahead of the #EndBadGovernanceProtest Even the arrest and release of the former BBC Pidgin Editor and current West Africa Regional Editor of the Conversation, Adejuwon Soyinka, clearly shows a pattern, which objective is to intimidate journalists for speaking truth to this government.

“Now, the police have arrested Bristol Tamunobiefiri, who owns the PIDOM Nigeria blog on X, formerly Twitter. After detaining him for over two weeks, he was granted administrative bail, which would have been impossible to have. This is despite the fact that the Appeal Court, in the case of EFCC V. Emem Uboh (2022) LPEIR – 57968 (CA), held that administrative bail is illegal. Bristol should, therefore, be arraigned in court immediately or released.”