The House of Representatives ad hoc committee probing the award of oil prospecting licence (OPL) 245 to Malabu Oil and Gas have insisted that ex-presi
The House of Representatives ad hoc committee probing the award of oil prospecting licence (OPL) 245 to Malabu Oil and Gas have insisted that ex-president Goodluck Jonathan must be invited to give account of his role in the controversial $1 billion Malabu Oil deal. They have therefore invited him to testify in the ongoing investigations. The invitation went out on Wednesday morning.
In a statement, the committee said it had conducted an extensive investigation into the OPL 245 saga and that it was drawing to a close and therefore thought it absolutely necessary to invite the ex-president in the interest of thoroughness, natural justice and fair play, to take his evidence
According to them, “Mr Jonathan was the president at the material time the ministers brokered the deal that led to the allegation of $1bn diversion of funds. Mr Jonathan’s name features in the proceedings initiated by the public prosecutor of Milan in Italy.
“A UK court judgment in relation to an application to return part of the money being restrained, castigated the Jonathan administration as not having acted in the best interest of Nigeria in relation to the ‘deal’. Accordingly, pursuant to the provisions of the constitution, the committee has decided to request that former President Goodluck Jonathan gives evidence as to his role in the matter.”
In April, Razak Atunwa, chairman of the committee, said the lawmakers were considering inviting Jonathan to assist in its inquiries.
“The committee is aware of recent information that has come to light, both nationally and internationally, indicating that former president Goodluck Jonathan may have been complicit in the controversial OPL 245 deal,” Atunwa had said.
The sale of the block, which is considered as one of the most lucrative on the continent, has been replete with allegations and lawsuits. In the deal finally consummated in 2011, only $210 million of the $1.3 billion paid by Shell and Eni for the block went into federal government coffers as ‘signature bonus’. The rest was paid to Malabu Oil and Gas, mainly owned by Dan Etete, who, as petroleum minister in 1998, had awarded the lucrative licence to himself.
The sale to Malabu was nullified by Obasanjo in 1999 and assigned to Shell without a public bid. Ownership was suspiciously reverted to Malabu thereafter, leading to legal action by Shell who later resorted to negotiating directly with Etete after Jonathan assumed office in 2010. A year later, the $1.3 billion deal was struck, with Malabu getting $1.1 billion from Shell and Eni to its transfer ownership, while the signature bonus was paid to Nigeria.
The lawmakers shifted their focus on Jonathan after an American news website, reported that Jonathan benefitted from the sale of the oil block. But Jonathan has since denied the allegation, saying it was struck before he became president.
