Despite selling its downstream operations as far back as 2015, former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar on Wednesday accused President Bola Tinubu of mortgaging the oil industry to his family and associates, citing the alleged control of OVH, an oil industry operator, by Oando Plc, owned by Wale Tinubu.
Atiku said he believed that even after Tinubu leaves office, it would be nearly impossible to break the shackles, comparing Tinubu’s alleged integration of his business interests into Lagos’ public enterprises to his current attempts at the federal level.
In a statement by his media aide, Paul Ibe, Atiku argued that , “Just as Alpha Beta, Primero, and others act as Tinubu’s proxies in Lagos, managing critical sectors and generating revenue for him and his family, he has begun to replicate this at the federal level.”
He expressed astonishment at the operations of the NNPC and how the government-owned oil company has allegedly put its retail arm under the control of OVH, a company in which he said Oando, led by Wale Tinubu, owns 49 per cent.
Atiku regretted that his intention to privatise the NNPC and increase its transparency has been overshadowed by what he described as the criminal hijack of the NNPC by corporate cabals around the current president.
“In October 2022, just five months before the elections, the NNPC Retail controversially announced it had acquired OVH and all its filling stations. NNPC already had about 550 filling stations across the country but claimed it was enhancing its capacity by acquiring OVH, which had only 94 stations and 100 others leased.
“The NNPC did not disclose the purchase price of OVH or the terms of the acquisition. A Freedom of Information (FOI) request by Premium Times was also rejected by the NNPC, which claimed to be a private company despite still being government-owned.
“Following this dubious deal, Mele Kyari, was controversially retained as NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer despite his incompetence. Tinubu then appointed his former boss at Mobil, turned ally, Pius Akinyelure, as NNPC Chairman, while he himself took on the role of Minister of Petroleum.
“In a move that defies economic logic, OVH, previously owned by NNPC Retail, has now acquired NNPC Retail. This absurd situation means that Wale Tinubu’s Oando now owns 49 per cent of NNPC Retail.
“Moreover, Nigeria paid Wale Tinubu a significant sum to facilitate the Tinubu family’s acquisition of the national oil company. This represents a clear case of illogical business transactions and abuse of office by President Tinubu, who has prevented NNPC from becoming a public liability company as stipulated by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA),” he alleged.
Atiku acknowledged that the NNPC and its leadership were under legislative investigation but expressed scepticism about the process’ credibility due to the vested interests of those conducting the investigation.
“Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, who is heading the National Assembly panel, is a known supporter of Tinubu. He served as a commissioner under Tinubu in Lagos State and publicly calls him his godfather.
“Given that Tinubu is the petroleum minister, he should be held responsible for the sector’s issues. I doubt Bamidele will conduct a thorough investigation that might implicate his patron,” Atiku said.
On the Lagos-Calabar coastal road, Atike said he had earlier claimed that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project was fraudulent, but the government denied it.
He said that mow that the matter is in court, it was concerning that Chagoury and Tinubu have a business relationship, and their children are business partners, as revealed by OCCRP.
“This indicates a conflict of interest. It is no surprise that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the Sokoto-Badagry Coastal Highway, which together will cost over $24 billion, were approved without competitive bidding. It seems that whatever Tinubu wants, he gets,” Atiku said.
But when THISDAY contacted the Group Chief Executive Officer of Oando, Mr Wale Tinubu on the allegation by the former vice president, he vehemently refuted the allegation, insisting that the company has no stake in OVH.
He stressed that as far back as 2015, Oando sold its stake in the downstream to OVH, wondering how it is being dragged into the matter in 2024.
“We are not the ones who sold the company to NNPC. We sold that company, as far back as 2015. He should stop bullying us. They have been telling lies in public.
“He should not drag us into their politics. Oando bought the company in 2000 or 2002 from him when he was chairman of privatisation and we sold the company, during Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
“We don’t own anything there. It’s deliberate falsehood. As a publicly quoted company, we issued a press statement when we sold that company in 2015,” he said on Wednesday night. “We sold our downstream operations in 2015,” Wale Tinubu maintained.
THISDAY tracked an online link where on June 30, 2015 a press release said that Oando Plc had reached an agreement to sell an equity stake in its downstream businesses to a joint venture consisting of Helios Investment partners and Vitol.
According to the statement, the integrated oil and gas company announced that a definitive agreement had been executed with the firms. “Importantly, the divestment enables Oando Plc to focus on its upstream and midstream businesses,” the statement added at the time.
Emmanuel Addeh and Chuks Okocha
Follow us on:
Senator Okpebholo has accused Obaseki of attempting to frustrate a peaceful power transfer and making…
Valencia’s citizens are protesting and demanding accountability after the deadly floods, criticising regional head Carlos…
Qatar has suspended its mediation role in Israel-Hamas talks, citing lack of willingness from both…
A Nasarawa professor Akyala has urged the UN to condemn Russia’s alleged illegal human labour…
Trump has been projected to win Arizona, completing a sweep of all seven swing states
Equatorial Guinea’s former anti-graft chief Engonga has been jailed in for allegedly recording over 400…
View Comments
(N.C.S)
GREETINGS!!! AUCTION ITEMS HERE ARE…
1. MOTOR CYCLES
2. BAGS OF RICE
3. ELECTRONIC'S ARE LAPTOPS/TV/PHONE'S ETC
4. BALE OF CLOTHES
5.TRUCKS/VEHICLES.
BELOW ARE SOME OF THE VEHICLES AVAILABLE INCLUDE.
TOYOTA VENZA ₦1.8Million
TOYOTA CAMRY 2.2 ₦800,000
TOYOTA CAMRY 2.4 ₦850,000
Highlander-N1. 6m
TOYOTA YARIS ₦900,000
TOYOTA MATRIX ₦900,000
TOYOTA RAV4 ₦950,000
dyna truck 1.3m
GOLF 3 & 4 N450,000_#550,000
MANY MORE AVAILABLE MODELS
#HONDA
HONDA ACCORD ₦800,000
HONDA EOD ₦850,000
HONDA ODYSSEY ₦800,000
MANY MORE AVAILABLE MODELS
#LEXUS
RX450 ₦950,000---1,800,000 to 3mLEXUS RX300- RX330 - RX350 - RX400 -
LEXUS LX450 - LX470 -LX570 ₦2.300,000 to 3.8m
LEXUS GX460 - GX470 ₦3.500,000
LEXUS RC300 - RC350 ₦1.800,000 to 3m
Benz GLK350 3m
Benz E200 2.670,000
Benz C300 2.8m
BAGS OF RICE AND GALLONS OF OIL AT AFFORDABLE PRICES.
➡PER GALLONS OF OIL =13,500
??👇
#RICE
▪PER BAGS OF RICE ARE:-
➡RISING SUN= N18,500
➡SECIALAFRICA N19, 500
➡TOMATO RICE= N18,000
➡MAMA AFRICA= 17,500
CALL OFFICER Omar HOTLINE'S ON
O8O__6739__9O9O
NOTE: All VEHICLES ENGINES ARE IN GOOD CONDITION, TESTED AND PERFECT. AUCTION IS OPEN FOR EVERYONE AND WE MAKE DELIVERING TO THE 36 STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT