The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, has dismissed claims by the Atiku Abubakar Media Office regarding the resolution of disputes linked to OPL 245. Fagbemi described these claims as misrepresentations of a landmark achievement of the current administration. The dispute over OPL 245 has been ongoing for decades, with the oil block originally awarded to Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd in April 1998, revoked in 2001, and later allocated to Shell Nigeria Ultra-Deep Limited in 2002.

Fagbemi highlighted that the 2011 Resolution Agreement involved the Federal Government, Malabu, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company, and Nigerian Agip Exploration/Eni. This agreement required Malabu to relinquish its claims in exchange for consideration, with a provision for the conversion of OPL 245 into an Oil Mining Lease. However, the arbitration at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, initiated by Eni and Nigerian Agip, exposed Nigeria to potential liabilities exceeding $2 billion.

Atiku Abubakar has faulted the Federal Government's claim of a final resolution of the dispute, describing it as misleading and premature. He argued that fresh legal action initiated by Malabu Oil and Gas Limited contradicts the position of the Attorney-General that the matter had been conclusively settled.

💡 NaijaBuzz Take

The Attorney-General's dismissal of Atiku's claims raises serious questions about the integrity of the OPL 245 resolution. The fact that Atiku's concerns about the legality, transparency, and integrity of the agreement have been ignored is a worrying sign. The potential liabilities of $2 billion, exposed by the ICSID arbitration, are a stark reminder of the risks involved in the resolution. The Nigerian public deserves to know the truth about the OPL 245 resolution and the role of the Attorney-General in negotiating it. The Atiku Abubakar Media Office's criticism of the Federal Government's handling of the dispute is well-founded, and it is time for the government to come clean about the details of the resolution.