The House of Representatives resolved on Wednesday to invite
former President Goodluck Jonathan to testify in the ongoing investigations
into the controversial sale of Oil Prospecting Licence 245.
Better known as $1.1bn Malabu Oil deal, an ad hoc committee
of the House has been investigating the alleged diversion of the money, which
was the Federal Government’s share of the deal.
The committee is chaired by a member of the All Progressives
Congress from Kwara State, Mr. Razak Atunwa.
In making its decision to invite Jonathan public on
Wednesday in Abuja, Atunwa stated that certain information in public domain had
made the need to hear from the former President necessary before the probe
could be considered conclusive.
He explained that hearing from Jonathan was also an
indication that “thoroughness, natural justice and fair play” were applied in
the investigation.
Atunwa stated, “Mr. Jonathan was the President at the
material time that (his cabinet) 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 United Kingdom court judgment in relation to an
application to return part of the money being investigated, castigated the
Jonathan administration as not having acted in the best interest of Nigeria in
relation to the ‘deal’.
“The Attorney General of the Federation at the material
time, Mohammed Bello-Adoke, has recently instituted proceedings in court
wherein he pleads that all his actions were as instructed by former President
Goodluck Jonathan.
“Accordingly, pursuant to the provisions of the (1999)
Constitution, the committee has decided to request that former President Goodluck
Jonathan give evidence as to his role in the matter.”
He added that the secretariat of the committee had been
directed to write to Jonathan, “asking for his response and submission.”
When asked whether this meant that Jonathan would come
personally before the committee or the committee would meet him at a location
chosen by the former President, Atunwa replied that what was most important was
to write to him.
“There are parliamentary procedures, so we don’t jump the
gun. What we have said here is to ask for his response. When he responds, that
is when we go further.
“At this material point, we have invited him and that is
where the case will rest for now,” he added.
The House had first investigated the deal in the 7th
Assembly (2011-2015).
Not satisfied with the outcome of the probe, the current 8th
House revisited it.
This second phase of the probe was launched in October 2016
with the committee taking representations from Shell, Agip and the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission.
It also received the submissions of the current AGF, Mr.
Abubakar Malami, among others.
However, a former Minister of Petroleum Resources in the
Jonathan administration, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, and Bello-Adoke
reportedly shunned the panel.
According to the House, OPL 245 occupies an area of 1,958
square kilometres and holds up to “9.2billion” barrels of crude oil.
Recalling how the deal started, the committee said Chief Dan
Etete, a former minister in the administration of the late Gen. Sani Abacha,
awarded the block to himself in 1998, using Malabu Oil and Gas.
“He awarded it to himself for just $20m, out of which he
paid only $2m,” the committee stated.
It added that former President Olusegun Obasanjo revoked the
block, and later sold it to Shell at $210m, a development, which sparked off a
series of legal tussles.
The committee recalled that while Malabu was still in court,
Bello-Adoke and Alison-Madueke were alleged to have “contrived a series of
complex agreements of a questionable nature.”
It added, “The summary of the agreement was that Shell and
Nigeria Agip Exploration paid $1.1bn to the Federal Government for the oil
block.”
However, instead of paying the money into the Federation
Account, the committee stated that Bello-Adoke and Alison-Madueke “caused the
money to be transferred to Malabu, which then spirited the money to various
foreign bank accounts.
“In this regard, it
is alleged that companies, such as A. A. Oil Limited, were engaged to launder
the funds.”
The committee viewed the development as unacceptable,
arguing that “Nigeria and its citizens may be said to have been short-changed
to the tune of $1.1bn.”
The committee stated, “As we sit here today, $110m is being
held by the UK authorities from the fund as proceeds of corruption from
Nigeria.
“Italian prosecutors have also requested that money from
that deal in Swiss accounts should be frozen.
“So, Nigeria folds its alms while other countries protect
its interest? Nigeria is the victim.”
But, Malami, in his submissions to the committee in December
2016, claimed that the Federal Government could not prosecute Alison-Madueke ,
Bello-Adoke and a former Minister of Finance,
Mr. Olusegun Aganga, because of lack of sufficient evidence to nail the
three former ministers.
Malami added that though Bello-Adoke had made written
submissions, he had “not made himself available.”
The AGF, however, admitted before the committee that the
payment of over $1.09bn into an escrow account by the three former government
officials was illegal, explaining that the money ought to have been remitted
into the Federation Account.
Attempts to get comments of ex-President Jonathan on his
invitation by the committee were not successful as calls made to the mobile
phone of his Media Adviser, Mr Ikechukwu Eze, did not connect while a text
message sent to him had yet to be responded to as of the time of filing this
report on Wednesday.
PUNCH
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