Fakoyejo OlalekanThe House of Representatives has accused Sahara Energy Limited and the Federal Government of illicit deal relating to the auction of the Oil Mining Licence (OML) 11.
According to the lower chamber, the Oil Mining Licence (OML) 11 received a bid of $1 billion from the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).
However, the government went ahead to accept $250 million from Sahara Energy, prompting the lawmakers to question the deal during Wednesday’s plenary.
The House alleged an under-the-table or covert arrangements between Sahara Energy and the federal government to transfer the oilfield assets to the firm owned by Tonye Cole.
It was revealed that Shell Petroleum Development Company previously operated the oil field under OML 11 under a joint venture, but lost it in 1993 after it was forced out of Ogoniland.
The OML 11 has remained idle since the firm’s ouster, and SPDC’s bid to renew its operating license, on August 16, 2021, was lost to a Court of Appeal judgment.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has since taken over, and plans to transfer the oil field to Sahara Energy for $250 million rather than the $1 billion offered by SPDC.
According to a lawmaker, Victor Mela, the sponsor of the motion leading to the investigation, he said “The House is worried that there are unresolved issues between the government and the host communities of Ogoni that are currently fuelling resistance and restiveness amongst the people
“The House is worried that the government is involved in under-the-table or covert arrangements to auction OML 11 assets to Sahara Energy Limited for a paltry sum of $250m as against the $1bn offered by the SPDC.
“The House is concerned with the need to urgently clarify and resolve issues associated with the planned auction among other matters.”
Following lawmakers’ suspicion, the Committee on Petroleum (Upstream) have been asked to investigate “the planned auction, among other matters, and report back within four weeks.”
As a result, the lower legislative chamber said the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company and the Federal Government should “suspend the planned auction and sale of the OML 11 asset until relevant issues are resolved.”
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