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Atiku Abubakar, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, has asked the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government to explain the expedited approval process that allowed Oando Plc to acquire domestic assets of AGIP and ENI.
Atiku’s demand for transparency comes amid allegations of preferential treatment in the oil and gas sector.
On Thursday, Oando PLC issued a statement announcing the completion of its acquisition of Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited (NAOC Ltd), stating, “Today marks a significant milestone for Oando PLC as we are pleased to announce the finalization of our agreement with Eni to acquire the entire shareholding in Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited (NAOC Ltd).”
However, Atiku, through a statement from his Special Assistant on Public Communications, Phrank Shaibu, expressed concerns about the fairness of the approval process.
The statement alleged that Oando, which is linked to President Bola Tinubu’s nephew, was given an unfair advantage over other investors. It highlighted the delays in other key transactions, such as the Shell/Renaissance deal and the Mobil/Seplat acquisition, which were at odds with Oando’s speedy approvals.
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Atiku’s statement read in part, “Former Nigerian Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has asked the Federal Government to explain why Oando Plc, owned by the President’s nephew, obtained expedited approval to buy domestic assets of AGIP and ENI while other transactions like the Shell/Renaissance and Mobil/Seplat deals continue to suffer delays. Tinubu visited FMDQ in New York, visited Qatar, visited France where he lied about removing petrol subsidy. Clearly, this is not a man who is serious about attracting FDI. What is more worrying is that he is not even brave enough to admit that the subsidy is being paid. NNPCL admitted that N7.8 trillion is owed to the national oil company by the Nigerian government.”
The statement continued, “The IMF estimates that subsidy payments this year will amount to 3% of GDP, which is about $7.5 billion. This would be about N11.8 trillion. Yet, petrol shortages continue while the Tinubu administration continues to stall the Dangote Refinery and even its own NNPCL facility. Clearly, the subsidy regime has become a wider channel through which money will be channeled to fund the 2027 general elections.”
Atiku also criticized the House for its indifference to the alleged actions of NNPCL in “mortgaging the country’s national oil assets to certain interests.”
He noted that the Nigerian Upstream Production Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) approved Oando’s acquisition of ENI/AGIP’s domestic assets within eight months. In contrast, other transactions, such as SEPLAT’s bid to acquire Mobil assets, have been delayed for more than three years, with the approval letter reportedly still on Tinubu’s desk.
The statement said, “The only deal that has been fully implemented so far is the one involving Oando. Now we know why it was given such an expedited approval. Ideally, democracy should be a government of the people, for the people, and by the people. However, democracy in Nigeria has become a government of Tinubu, by Tinubu, and for Tinubu and his family members.”
Atiku also voiced concerns about corruption in the oil sector, criticizing the NNPC, NUPRC and NMDPRA for failing to address the issue. He accused these bodies of being complicit in the failures of the current administration, alleging that the appointments of Huub Stoksman and Mumuni Dangazau were made before the acquisition of OVH assets was completed, indicating a potential conflict of interest.
In a related development, Atiku slammed Tinubu’s administration for alleged escalating human rights violations. He accused Tinubu of failing to live up to his reputation as a freedom fighter by allowing security agencies to violate citizens’ rights without accountability. Atiku cited the recent enforced disappearances and arrests of journalists, including Daniel Ojukwu, Aliyu Sanusi, Adejuwon Soyinka and Bristol Tamunobiefiri, as evidence of a disturbing trend towards authoritarianism.
He concluded, “The dangerous trend of enforced disappearances has become a national disgrace to a country that claims to be a democracy. On May 1, 2024, Daniel Ojukwu of the Investigative Journalism Foundation disappeared and was allegedly abducted by kidnappers and later found to be in police custody on the orders of IGP Kayode Egbetokun. Ojukwu’s crime was to expose the corruption of a government official currently serving in the Tinubu administration.
“On July 23, the DSS arrested one Aliyu Sanusi at Sama Street, Sokoto, the state capital for printing and distributing materials ahead of the #EndBadGovernance Protest.
“Even the arrest and release of former BBC Pidgin Editor and current West Africa Regional Editor at The Conversation, Adejuwon Soyinka, clearly shows a pattern, the purpose of which is to intimidate journalists into telling the truth to this government.”
Atiku demanded immediate action to address the issue and called for greater transparency and accountability from the government.
Atiku demands clarification on Oando’s swift approval for AGIP/ENI acquisition from Nigerian government first appeared on Latest Nigeria News | Headlines from Ripples Nigeria.
