The Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation said on Wednesday that the presidential approvals it
received for two oil contracts worth N640 billion were granted by Vice
President Yemi Osinbajo during his time as acting president.
The
“Acting President Yemi Osinbajo gave the approval,” Ndu Ughamadu,
spokesperson for the NNPC, said in a message to PREMIUM TIMES at noon
Wednesday.
But for the ensuing 10 hours, Mr. Osinbajo’s office
could not confirm or counter the NNPC’s claim despite repeated requests
from PREMIUM TIMES.
The NNPC’s statement on Wednesday after that
of Tuesday and the presidency’s handling of the controversy surrounding
the operations of the state-oil firm further highlight the opaque nature
of the running of the corporation.
Mr. Ughamadu’s declaration
comes hours after PREMIUM TIMES highlighted a critical aspect of a
Monday morning statement by the NNPC which suggested that the state-run
oil giant had received presidential approvals for at least two contract
awards during the time President Muhammadu Buhari was on medical leave
in London.\
The NNPC listed the contracts as part of its response
to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, who had
earlier accused the head of NNPC of abuse of contract regulations and
insubordination in a memo to Mr. Buhari.
In the August 30 memo,
Mr. Kachikwu said Maikanti Baru awarded up to $25 billion in oil
contracts under different guises without recourse to NNPC board or
himself as its chairman. The memo sparked nationwide controversy
followings its leakage on the Internet October 3.
The NNPC pushed
back in a statement Monday, saying Mr. Kachikwu’s complaints were
misplaced as the Mr. Baru only needed to get input and approval from
President Buhari, who’s also the substantive Minister of Petroleum
Resources.
The agency also listed some contracts that received presidential approvals between September 2015 and July 2017.
The
statement said NNPC received presidential approvals for two oil
contracts on July 10 and July 31 worth $1 billion and $780 million,
respectively.
The timeline indicated that the contracts were
signed on dates Mr. Buhari was on medical leave in London and Mr.
Osinbajo was acting as president in line with the Constitution.
PREMIUM
TIMES then contacted the NNPC to clarify whether the approvals were
granted by Mr. Buhari while on his sickbed in London, but the agency’s
spokesperson declined to clarify, saying “presidential approval is
presidential approval.”
When PREMIUM TIMES reminded him of
potential legal implications of Mr. Buhari exercising presidential
powers even when he had relinquished same in accordance with the
constitution, Mr. Ughamadu dug his heels in.
“Presidential approval is presidential approval,” the spokesperson insisted.
President
Buhari’s spokespersons, Femi Adesina and Garba Shehu, also declined to
comment on their principal’s role in the contract saga when contacted on
Tuesday.
But hours after the story was published, Mr. Ughamadu
contacted PREMIUM TIMES to say that it was Mr. Osinbajo who gave the
presidential approvals for the contracts.
Yet Laolu Akande,
spokesperson for Mr. Osinbajo, could not corroborate the NNPC’s
assertion for about 10 hours on Wednesday after he was contacted by
PREMIUM TIMES.
In his memo to Mr. Buhari, Mr. Kachikwu stated
that when Mr. Buhari was unwell in London for several months between May
and August, Mr. Baru tried to get direct approval from Acting President
Osinbajo for some personnel changes at the NNPC.
But Mr.
Osinbajo asked Mr. Baru to go back to Mr. Kachikwu and get his input and
approval first before making the changes. Mr. Baru refused to consult
Mr. Kachikwu on that.
For weeks, the changes were not made, until Mr. Buhari returned on August 19. By August 29, Mr. Baru announced the changes.
This prompted Mr. Kachikwu’s letter to the president on August 30, complaining that he learnt of the development in the media.
Neither the vice president’s office nor Mr. Baru has denied that claim by Mr. Kachikwu.
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