President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is facing accusations of using his office to facilitate a controversial acquisition of percent equity in Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) Joint Venture (JV) assets by Oando, a company whose CEO, Wale Tinubu, is his nephew.
The allegations, put forth by a political commentator writing under the moniker “Amaso Jack” for “Strategic Politics With Amaso Jack,” claim the move risks the “vital economic interests” of communities in Rivers, Delta, Bayelsa, and Imo States.
The NAOC JV comprises Oil Mining Leases (OML) 60, 61, 62, and 63, which, in 2022, attributed 24,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day to Eni’s net production. Production from these concessions, covering a total area of 5,313km2 across the four states, feeds into the Obiafu-Obrikom plant and the Brass terminal. Prior to the acquisition, the NAOC JV was structured with the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) holding a 60 percent interest, NAOC (20percent), and Oando (20percent). The recent transaction sees Oando acquiring Eni’s 20 percent stake.
The acquisition has drawn scrutiny, with Amaso Jack highlighting a Vanguard newspaper report from September 2023 which noted “controversy” surrounding the deal, particularly given that a previous attempt by ExxonMobil to sell its assets to Seplat Energy Plc was reportedly halted.
The author implied a clear conflict of interest, given President Tinubu’s dual role as President and Minister of Petroleum, with his nephew heading the acquiring company.
Further details cited include a September 2023 account by Bunmi Aduloju in The Cable, reporting that the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) had withdrawn workers from Eni due to concerns over the sale’s impact on outstanding financial obligations to employees.
Amaso Jack also drew a comparison, suggesting that while President Tinubu is seen as protecting “Yoruba ‘vital’ ‘National’ Interest… by securing them in Yoruba hands for the Yoruba,” he is simultaneously “putting at risk” the vital interests of the Niger Delta peoples through this controversial acquisition. The commentator pointed out that the OMLs 60, 61, 62, and 63 are located in non-Yoruba speaking littoral states (Rivers, Bayelsa, and Delta, excluding the Itsekiri in Delta) and Imo State.
The acquired assets are said to be associated with an expansion project for Unitised Gas Fields (Samabri-Biseni, Akri-Oguta, Ubie-Oshi, and Afuo-Ogbainbiri), currently in the feasibility stage. Specific locations mentioned include Ubie-Oshie gas field in Ahoada West LGA, Rivers State; Akri-Oguta in Imo State (site of Nigeria’s first natural gas recycling plant); and Afuo-Ogbainbiri and Ogboinbiri (Southern Ijaw LGA, Bayelsa State), which include flow stations and gas plants. Additionally, NAOC also holds interests in the Okpai 1 and 2 power plants with a combined capacity of 960MW, and onshore exploration leases OPL 282 (90 ercent) and OPL 135 (48 percent).
The author posed a rhetorical question: “If OML 60, 61, 62 and 63, had been in Oyo, Ogun and Ondo and former President Goodluck Jonathan did what Tinubu is doing (by giving them to an Ijaw owned oil company, the way Tinubu is doing), would Tinubu not have mobilized his efficient propaganda team to rouse the populace to action…?”
These accusations have brought the transparency and equity of the oil sector’s acquisition processes under renewed public scrutiny.
