As the disputes over the acquisition of the Exxon Mobil shares by Seplat Energy limited continues, Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami on Thursday, said he is yet to be consulted over the stalled deal.
Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari had on Monday approved the deal that allowed Seplat Energy to acquire the shares. The President, while consenting to the acquisition of Exxon Mobil shares in the United States of America by Seplat Energy Offshore Ltd, said he acted in his approval in his capacity as “Minister of Petroleum Resources, and in consonance with the country’s drive for Foreign Direct Investment in the energy sector”.
Exxon Mobil had entered into the landmark sale and Purchase Agreement with Seplat Energy to acquire the entire share capital of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited from Exxon Mobil Corporation, Mobil Development Nigeria Inc., and Mobil Exploration Nigeria Inc., both registered in Delaware, USA.
The statement noted that: “Exxon Mobil/Seplat are expected to carry out operatorship of all the oil mining licenses in the related shallow water assets towards production optimisation to support Nigeria’s OPEC quota in the short-term, as well as ensure accelerated development and monetisation of the gas resources in the assets for the Nigerian economy. President Buhari also directed that all environmental and abandonment liabilities be adequately mitigated by Exxon Mobil and Seplat”. However, following the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited objections to the transaction, the President was said to have retracted his earlier approval
Presidential Spokesman, Garba Shehu, confirmed that the President reversed his decision because the agencies involved have not “coordinated well among themselves”. He revealed that the confusion over ExxonMobil shares was because “the various agencies involved in the decision had not coordinated well among themselves and having looked at all of the facts with all of the ramifications, the President decided the position of the regulator is to be supported”.
But Malami, while speaking at the regular Presidential briefing at the State House, Abuja on Thursday, said although such requests for advice should come to him, he is however yet to be consulted. The AGF, who also spoke on the travails of former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, stated that although there has been in existence, mutual legal assistance, requests, and collaboration between Nigeria and other countries across the world, neither Ekweremadu nor the British government has approached his office on the issue.
