Ex-Minister, Diezani Approved $24bn Oil Swap Deal Without A Contract – Former NNPC Boss

A former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Mr. Austin Oniwon, revealed on Tuesday that former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke approved $24bn worth of crude oil deal with trading companies without a formal contract.

Oniwon told the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee on Crude Oil Swap t

hat Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, merely granted the “extension” of an earlier contract with the companies that lifted $24bn worth of crude oil from the country between 2011 and 2014.

He noted that the extension was not a formal contract before he (Oniwon) left office in 2012.

“There was an approval for the extension by the minister; I believe the records are with the NNPC,” he added.

The original (first) crude oil swap contract was signed between the NNPC and two crude traders, Duke Oil and Tranfigura in 2010 to last for one year. It expired officially in 2011.

However, Alison-Madueke reportedly granted an extension of the contract without the NNPC formally signing another contract on the new (second) deal.

The committee had earlier heard from the firms that crude lifting indeed continued till 2014 before a contract was formalised.

One of the lawmakers, Mr. Michael Enyong, said, “These companies had lifted crude worth $24bn before the contract was signed in 2014 and backdated to look like it was signed in 2011 when the first one expired.”

Oniwon maintained that  there was no “breach” in the exchange arrangements throughout his tenure at the NNPC.

When he was reminded that there were evidence indicating that the contract expired in 2011, but it continued to run till 2014, Oniwon replied that Alison-Madueke “approved” the extension.

Oniwon also argued that as GMD of the NNPC, he did not require a presidential and Federal Executive Council approval to enter into the swap arrangements.

According to Oniwon, the 445,000 barrels of crude were the property of the NNPC, which it bought from the Federal Government at the prevailing rate for refining.

He added, “I am not a lawyer, but I didn’t need anybody’s approval to take crude to the refinery for refining if the refineries were running.

“This crude had been paid for by the NNPC. If I needed to take the crude for exchange, I am not going to write the Federal Government. It is NNPC’s decision on what to do to guarantee regular supply of products in the country.

“That was the whole essence of the swap arrangement; to ensure that we had adequate products, which we achieved successfully.”

However, the committee insisted that the NNPC under Oniwon and the former minister breached procurement procedures by engaging in a transaction worth well above N100m without FEC’s approval.

Oniwon stood his grounds that he did not feel the NNPC required another approval, since the minister, “the immediate boss”, had approved the crude swap arrangement.

“If there was supposed to be a higher approval, it was the minister who should seek the approval, not the NNPC,” Oniwon added.

When asked what was the spending or approval limit of the GMD, Oniwon replied, “It was put at $10m.”

Also appearing before the committee was Oniwon’s successor, Mr. Andrew Yakubu, who said that he made efforts to review the swap arrangement with a view to correcting noticeable lapses, but that he was frustrated.

The committee, chaired by an All Progressives Congress lawmaker from Kwara State, Mr. Zakari Mohammed directed the NNPC to search its records and produce Yakubu’s report.

Members also asked the corporation to produce evidence of the extension of the contract Alison-Madueke granted without a formal contract.