Additionally, how do you explain the federal government’s announcement, made just a few months after it was revealed that Tinubu’s Oando had acquired all of Agip’s onshore assets, that all the disputed issues surrounding OPL 245, Nigeria’s most lucrative deep offshore oil acreage, have been resolved and that Eni (Agip) has received the lease back in an artificial alliance with the Anglo-Dutch Shell?

The phrase government and administration in our clime have mastered mischief, a significant obsession of the human psyche. And those in power in Nigeria exhibit it everywhere and in all they do. The line separating pure egocentricity/greed from sincere good intentions has grown so thin that it is difficult, if not impossible, for us to distinguish between the two without obvious external evidence for the naive followers to see.

In light of the fact that large multinational corporations are fleeing Nigeria in droves due to the country’s failing economy and harsh government policies, it is noteworthy that Oando Plc, which is led by President Bola Tinubu’s nephew Wale Tinubu, saw its market value soar to a record high of N1 trillion as of September 2024, up more than 1,000% during the country’s worst economic and cost-of-living crises.

Before Mr. Tinubu’s administration, Oando was an average-performing oil business. However, in the financial year that ended in 2023, it reported a profit after taxes of N74 billion, which was a sharp contrast to the previous year’s loss after taxes.

However, the company’s share price, which was selling for six naira on September 1, 2023, saw its market value soar to an all-time high of N92 just over a year after Mr. Tinubu was elected president.

Oando is now among the top 10 most capitalised companies on the Nigerian stock exchange, according to the most recent assessment.

Oando and Wale Tinubu have persisted in denying any wrongdoing, claiming that some of the conversations that resulted in their most recent achievements happened long before his uncle was elected.

The acquisition of all the onshore assets of Nigerian Agip Oil Company, the local operational subsidiary of the Italian energy giant ENI, by Oando, a business owned by President Tinubu’s family, appears to be a minor issue at first glance and to the uninformed.

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) approved Oando’s acquisition of Eni’s entire 100% stake in the Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited in a matter of months, which is not only suspicious but also raises serious questions about the impartiality of the decision-making process.

Remember that on September 4, 2023, Eni (Agip) first announced the transaction with Oando. However, it never proceeded past the point where Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, the state-owned company that owns the remaining 60% of the assets, suggested it would use its pre-emption rights.

After changing its mind a few months earlier, NNPCL agreed to back down, and on July 24, 2024, NUPRC accepted the contract, which was finalised on August 22, 2024.

The speed at which Oando, which is headed by the nephew of Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, received approval raises serious concerns about the slowness with which other indigenous players, like Seplat and Renaissance, have been approved to purchase the onshore and shallow water assets of major oil companies ExxonMobil, TotalEnergies, and Shell, have also been approved.

Within a few months, Oando received express clearance for Agip’s asset purchase, but others did not. There is still uncertainty behind the agreement’s expedited clearance, and Seplat/ExxonMobil has not provided a public explanation for why the deal was given priority.

As a result, the connection between the presidency and Oando, the corporation, will undoubtedly generate some discussion, as it has already.

Furthermore, how do you explain the federal government’s announcement, made just a few months after it was revealed that Tinubu’s Oando had acquired all of Agip’s onshore assets, that all the disputed issues surrounding OPL 245, Nigeria’s most lucrative deep offshore oil acreage, have been reso

lved and that Eni (Agip) has received the lease back in an artificial alliance with the Anglo-Dutch Shell?

Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), revealed earlier this year at the Nigerian International Energy Summit in Abuja that “the President has directed myself and the Attorney General of the Federation to resolve all lingering issues around OPL 245”. I’m pleased to inform you that every problem has been fixed.

The transfer of acreage rights to Eni (Agip) was the primary point of contention.

In a statement released last week by his Media Office in Abuja, former vice president Atiku Abubakar expressed his surprise at the speed at which the Nigerian Upstream Production Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) approved a deal that resulted in the divestment of ENI/AGIP onshore assets to Oando in just eight months. Nigeria controversially withdrew all legal proceedings against Shell/ENI in the OPL 245 case around that same time frame, in what can only be described as a very opaque deal.

OPL 245 is a significant oil block that has been the focus of numerous legal disputes in several jurisdictions.

The block is thought to have approximately 9 billion barrels of proved crude oil reserves, or nearly 25% of the country’s total proven oil reserves of 37 billion barrels.

Is it not obvious that ENI (Nigerian Agip) may have thrown away its ownership right in the company’s onshore assets for a super-lucrative munificence in the deep offshore OPL 245 at a price that has been widely criticised to be well below the actual value?

Remember that at some point in November 2023, while Tinubu’s presidency, the Nigerian government backed out of a protracted legal battle in Italian courts over accusations of corruption related to the oil-bloc, OPL 245 agreement, by withdrawing civil claims totalling $1.1 billion against the Italian energy firm, Eni SpA.

In relation to rights for the field known as Oil Prospecting License (OPL 245), Nigeria also “irrevocably” abandoned the right to pursue any additional legal action in Italy against Eni, its affiliate, the Nigerian Agip, and current and former officers of the firm.

Surprisingly, Eni (Agip) also holds the rights to OPL 244, which is a bloc that lies next to the Malabu acreage where it had started exploration and production (E&P) activities.

Therefore, it is quite interesting that the Nigerian Upstream Production Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) authorised a deal in just eight months that involved the Tinubu family’s Oando purchasing ENI/AGIP’s onshore assets. During that same time frame, Nigeria controversially dropped all of its legal actions against Shell/ENI (Nigerian Agip) in the OPL 245 scandal, under the same Tinubu Presidency?

What exactly is the situation between Eni (Agip) and the Tinubu Family?

According to reliable and knowledgeable sources, Oando may be purchasing a sizable portion of the valuable deep offshore OPL 245 in addition to Agip’s onshore holdings as part of this deal.

Only time will tell if this accusation is true, but until then, we will have to wait for a “Pharaoh” who knew not to come for the chance to right this alleged wrongdoing. Bless Nigeria, oh God!