Emmanuel Thomas
June 17, 2015 – Radical Lagos lawyer, Mr. Festus Keyamo has petitioned the Senate and the House of Representatives for an open probe of alleged fraud in oil swap amounting to $50 billion in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and some indigenous oil firms.
In the petition titled, “Request for an open probe into the reported massive fraud in the NNPC regarding the crude oil swap programme and the offshore processing agreements (opas)”, the radical lawyer said he is compelled to write the petition as a result of reports about massive looting of state resources by officials of the NNPC in collusion with some local companies in the oil and gas sector with regards to oil swap arrangement.
According to him, the Crude Oil Swap refer to an arrangement whereby about fifty percent (50%) of the nation’s daily quota of crude oil meant for domestic refining and consumption are given to some local companies in the oil and gas sector which then sell the products in the international market and thereafter import petroleum products, including derivatives or byproducts on behalf of the NNPC and PPMC for sale and distribution in the country.
He explained that Nigeria’s daily quota of crude oil for local consumption is about 445,000 barrels adding that the oil swap arrangement was necessitated by the inability of local refineries to operate at their fully installed capacities which would have been able to refine all the daily domestic quota of crude oil.
“The Offshore Processing Agreements (OPAs) involved the allocation of the daily domestic quota of crude oil to some local companies in the oil and gas sector. The companies then take the crude oil to refineries outside the country, refine them into petroleum products, including derivatives or byproducts, and import them into the country on behalf of the PPMC.
“The colossal fraud in both programmes have reportedly started and heightened in recent years. The fraud occurs when far less quantity of petroleum products, byproducts and derivatives are imported into the country by the local companies in exchange for the crude oil allocated to them by the NNPC.
“The staggering shortfalls in the imported products are done with the active connivance, collusion and knowledge of the officials of the NNPC. The proceeds are, of course, subsequently shared between the NNPC officials and these local companies.
“In fact, it is reported that a colossal sum of about $50billion (fifty billion dollars) have been stolen by these people through these fraudulent programmes in the last few years”, he alleged.
In probing the sector, Keyamo noted that the searchlight should be on former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Allison Madueke, Managing Director of NPDC, Mr. Tony Moneke; Executive Director, Commercial, PPMC, Mr. Frank Amejo; Group General Manager, Crude Oil Marketing Division, Mr. Gbenga Komolafe; Former Managing Director of NPDC, and later NNPC Group Executive Director, E & P, Mr. Abiye Membere.
He also requested the lawmakers to invite the following private companies, AITEO that is owned by Mr. Benny Peters, Sahara Energy owned by Tonye Cole, Tope Sonubi and Ade Odunsi, Ontario Oil and Gas owned by Walter Wagbatsoma and Taleveras founded by Mr. Igho Sanomi.
