Mismanagement

The Atiku Media Office notes with grave concern the latest development in the long-running OPL 245 dispute, which has once again exposed the Federal Government’s premature and misleading claims of a “final resolution” as nothing more than political theatrics.

The pre-action notice issued by Malabu Oil and Gas Limited, through its counsel, Chief R. O. Atabo, SAN, LL.D, has punctured the carefully constructed narrative of victory being peddled by the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi.

Contrary to official pronouncements, it is now clear that the matter is far from resolved and remains the subject of multiple subsisting legal proceedings, including cases before the Supreme Court and the Federal High Court.

Even more troubling is the revelation that Malabu — a principal stakeholder with longstanding legal and equitable interests in OPL 245 — was neither consulted nor involved in any purported negotiation or settlement process. This raises fundamental questions about the legality, transparency, and integrity of the so-called “Resolution Agreement” reportedly executed at the Presidential Villa.

A government that sidelines critical stakeholders, disregards pending judicial processes, and proceeds to celebrate a disputed agreement demonstrates not strength, but recklessness.

This development is not an isolated incident. It fits into a broader and disturbing pattern that has come to define the Tinubu administration — a pattern of governance driven more by propaganda than by substance, more by optics than by legality, and more by expediency than by national interest.

For nearly three years, Nigerians have been inundated with grand claims of economic recovery and institutional reform. Yet, the lived reality tells a different story: deepening economic hardship, worsening insecurity, and growing distrust in public institutions.
Nowhere is this contradiction more evident than in the oil and gas sector.

We are alarmed by credible reports suggesting a planned sale of up to 30 percent of Nigeria’s Joint Venture assets under NNPC Limited. These assets are not mere commercial instruments; they are strategic national holdings — the backbone of Nigeria’s revenue architecture. Any attempt to dispose of them without full transparency, competitive valuation, and public accountability would amount to the quiet auctioning of Nigeria’s future.

We call on PENGASSAN, NUPENG, and all stakeholders in the oil and gas industry to remain vigilant. The Nigerian people must not be shortchanged through opaque transactions carried out under the cover of reform.

Equally concerning are reports surrounding the relocation of NNPC Upstream Investment Management Services back to Lagos at an alleged annual rental cost exceeding ₦9 billion. At a time when Nigeria is grappling with an unprecedented debt servicing burden — rising from nearly ₦7 trillion in 2023 to about ₦16 trillion — such expenditure raises serious questions about fiscal discipline and priority setting.

Even more disturbing are allegations, yet to be credibly refuted, that the property in question may be linked to interests associated with the President’s family. In public service, perception matters. Silence in the face of such weighty allegations only deepens suspicion and erodes public trust. This is how institutions are weakened — not always by overt illegality, but by a steady erosion of transparency, accountability, and ethical governance.

The OPL 245 controversy is therefore not just about an oil block. It is emblematic of a larger governance crisis — where due process is treated as optional, where legal disputes are repackaged as political victories, and where national assets are handled with troubling opacity.