NEWS
Senate probes Shell over Joint Venture default, seeks $200m refund to FG
By John Akubo
For failing to comply with the Petroleum Act thereby breaching the Joint Venture Agreement entered into with the Federal Government the Senate, on Wednesday, constituted an Ad-Hoc Committee to investigate Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC)
The Ad-Hoc Committee was mandated to probe the Oil Mining Lease granted to SPDC between 1959 to 1989 and 1989 to 2019 under the SPDC/NNPC Joint Venture agreement.
The Ad-Hoc Committee which was constituted by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, has Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi as its Chairman.
Other members on the panel include Senators George Thompson Sekibo, Abdullahi Yahaya, Bassey Albert Akpan, Olamilekan Solomon Adeola, Smart Adeyemi, and Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed.
Accordingly, the chamber demanded a refund of $200 million (USD) or any amount short of what was paid by SPDC, including penalties and interests under the said lease agreements to the coffers of the Federal Government.
The resolution was reached by the chamber after it considered a motion sponsored by Senator George Thompson Sekibo (PDP, Rivers East).
The motion was entitled, “non payment of the sum of $200,000,000 accruals from the Oil Mining Lease (OML), by Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited under the SPDC/NNPC Joint Venture Agreement and, illegal and unlawful renewal of Oil Mining Leases by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources/Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) contrary to the provision of paragraph 10 of the First Schedule to the Petroleum Act 1969 (now Section 86(1) and 86(6) of the Petroleum Industry Act 2022.”
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Sekibo, in a presentation, observed that the SPDC/NNPC Joint Venture (JV) agreement, in contravention of the provisions of the Petroleum Act 1969, by the defunct Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, granted to the SPDC/NNPC a 30-year Oil Mining Lease from 1959 to 1989.
He observed that doing so constituted an illegal extension of the Oil Mining Lease by 10 years in the first instance, instead of the prescribed term of 20 years, without recourse to the provisions of the Petroleum Act 1969 in paragraph 10 of the First Schedule.
According to the lawmaker, “upon the expiration of the initial Oil Mining Lease in 1989, SPDC/NNPC JV, was granted another 30-year Oil Mining Lease again from 1st July 1989 to 30th June 2019, by the Ministry of Petroleum Resource/DPR instead of the 20 years lease period prescribed by the Petroleum Act, which is contrary to paragraph 10 of the First Schedule to the said Act”.
He disclosed that in the initial additional 10 years Oil Mining Lease of 1969 to 1989, illegally granted to the SPDC/NNPC JV by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources/DPR, the Federal Government lost from fees, taxes, rents, and royalties the sum of $120, 000, 000.
He stated that in the second instance of the extra 10 years the Federal Government also lost a further sum of $80,000,000, making a total of $200,000,000.
He noted that a loss of $200,000,000, which is equivalent to N83, 130, 000, 000 billion, could have been of great value to the economy of the nation.
He observed that the illegal action by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources/DPR as regards the SPDC/NNPC JV may not be the only non-compliant grant as details of other Joint Venture agreements with Chevron Nigeria Limited, ENI Joint Venture, EXXON Mobil Upstream JV, Total E & P Nigeria Limited JV, need to be ascertained through a thorough investigation to verify compliance with the provisions of the extant law.
He expressed worry that the trend of illegal extension of Joint Venture (JV) period from 20 years to 30 years lease period without recourse to the Petroleum Act may have also applied to other Joint Venture agreements with the International Oil Companies (IOCs) and need to be investigated.
Sekibo informed the chamber that SPDC went to Court on the clarity of the lease period and the judgment was not in their favour as regards the additional 10 years lease period in the two instances.
“Regrettably, the court failed to order the SPDC to pay the arrears the 20 years lease period to the tune of $200,000,000 to the Federal Government for the illegal extensions”, he said.
The lawmaker further disclosed that a whistle-blower petitioned the EFCC on the need to recover the sum of $200,000,000 from SPDC for these illegal extensions by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources/DPR and to further investigate all other Joint Venture agreements that involved the aforementioned IOCs.
He noted that the power to make laws for the Federation as vested in the National Assembly by the Constitution also encompasses the power to make laws for the promotion of national prosperity and a dynamic self-reliant economy as provided in section 16(1)(a) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.
He emphasised that the Constitution also gives power to each House of the National Assembly to carry out an appropriate investigation on an observed misapplication of the laws enacted by the National Assembly, as provided in Section 88 of the Constitution.
He stated further that Section 89 of the same Constitution provides the process on how such investigation should be carried out.
Accordingly, the Senate resolved to constitute an Ad-Hoc Committee to investigate the non-compliance with the Petroleum Act and the Oil Mining Lease granted to SPDC between 1959 to 1989, and 1989 to 2019 under the SPDC/NNPC Joint Venture Agreement; and compel SPDC to refund to the Federal Government the sum of $200,000,000 or any amount short of what was paid, including penalties and interests under the said lease agreement.
The Director General, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Mr. Charles Odii, the Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida, other regulators, experts, stakeholders from the financial services and ICT sectors, small business owners among others have confirmed their attendance at the SUPERNEWS Nigeria SMEs Forum 2024 scheduled for Thursday, June 13th 2024 at Radisson Hotel, GRA Ikeja, Lagos.
The conference with the theme, ‘Bringing SMEs into the Financial Services Network via Fintech’ would be declared open by the SMEDAN DG, Mr. Charles Odii, while the EVC of NCC will chair the event.
A renowned economist and financial expert, Dr. Biodun Adedipe, the MD/CEO Biodun Adedipe & Associate Ltd., will deliver the keynote speech at the conference, which would dig into issues faced by SMEs in running their day-to-day businesses in Nigeria.
The conference will also feature a panel session which would be handled by erudite scholars, including the Chairman, Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME), Yeye Modupe Dada; Managing Director/CEO, Sunu Assurances Plc, Mr. Sam Ogbodu, Managing Director/CEO of APT Securities and Funds Limited, Mr. Kasimu Garba Kurfi and Head, Financial Institutions Ratings at Agusto & Co., Mr. Ayokunle Olubunmi.
The Special Guests of Honour for the conference include the Director General of SMEDAN, Mr. Charles Odii; Acting Director General, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Dr. Emomotimi Agama and the Commissioner for Insurance/CEO, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Mr. Olusegun Ayo Omosehin.
The Publisher of SUPERNEWS Nigeria, Ngozi Onyeakusi in a statement in Lagos said the choice of the theme of the Conference was borne out of the quest to improve the business climate for SMEs in Nigeria by leveraging on technology in terms of accessing financial services.
She said it’s unfortunate that SMEs that form the bedrock of every economy are plagued by a lot of challenges, especially inadequate access to finance. Indeed, reports have shown that the challenge of SMEs in accessing funds could be traced to inadequate access to financial institutions and education, skills, experience of owners/managers, high interest rates, gender discrimination, among others.
It therefore becomes imperative to leverage on technology to ensure their sustainability, productivity and profitability.
The conference, she said, will, among others, examine the key challenges faced by SMEs in Nigeria and provide practical solutions to help overcome them.
It will equally explore the benefits of fintech for small businesses, including how it can help them overcome financial challenges and drive growth through technology-driven solutions.
She equally emphasised that the confab is a learning opportunity designed to enhance awareness, deepen understanding of the participants on how SMEs can grow and sustain their businesses by embracing various financial services options including banking, capital market, pension and insurance.
The Osun State Government has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Inspector General of Police and other stakeholders in Nigeria to urgently summon a former PDP stalwart in Osun State, Alhaji Shuaibu Oyedokun for questioning over his recent incendiary comments on the person and personality of the Governor of Osun State, Senator Dr Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke and the entire Adeleke family of Ede, Osun State.
This was contained in a statement issued in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Oluomo Kolapo Alimi.
According to the statement, the Government viewed with gross concern and outright dismay, the careless and unguarded utterances made by Alh. Shuaib Oyedokun wherein he advised Gov Adeleke not to, by any means, contest for a second term governorship in Osun State, if he doesn’t want an act of murder to be carried out and be hanged on the Governor and the highly respected Adeleke family of Ede where the Governor hails from.
The statement noted that during a live Yoruba radio programme on Rave F.M, Osogbo, tagged *Oro Oselu*, on Monday, the 20th of May, 2024, Alhaji.Oyedokun threw cautions to the wind in many of his politically uncultured and morally unguarded remarks while on the programme.
The OSG viewed such comments as not only inciting but the highest form of desperation from Alh Oyedokun and the entire Osun APC to which he defected to recently.
Against the backdrop of further interpreting his utterances throughout the duration of the Yoruba programme as a dangerous security development in Osun State, for which Alimi in the statement called for an immediate summon and eventual questioning of Oyedokun, by the law enforcement agencies to explain why the right of Gov Adeleke to contest for a second term should warrant shedding of innocent blood and hanging it on the neck of the governor and his family.
The security agencies need to unravel what plots or scheming bordering on criminality Pa Oyedokun is privy to or hatching alone or in partnership with his new party. This is necessary to forestall maturing of a hideous agenda capable of plunging Osun into crisis ahead of 2026 polls, the statement further reiterated.
The statement reads in part as follows: “As a Government, we view Alhaji Shuaib Oyedokun’s utterances throughout the duration of the
*Oro Oselu* radio programme of Monday, 20th of May,2024 as totally incongruous, callous, dirty, unwarranted and nauseating to say the least.
“Alhaji Shuaib Oyedokun’s comments,were not just within the boundaries of exercising his fundamental human rights of freedom of speech, they are at best morally awkward, debasing and a threat cum invitation for mayhem.
“Conclusively, as a Government, we are of the view that,whatever happens, bordering on the security of lives and property of the people of Osun State, before, during and after the coming Governorship election or any other election in our dear state, the likes of Oyedokun and APC members should be held accountable.”
Retired police officers under the contributory pension scheme have taken to the streets of Abuja to protest several months of unpaid pensions.
Coming from various state chapters, they voiced their frustration over the hardships they face due to PENCOM’s failure to pay their entitlements.
The retirees are calling on the Federal Government to exempt them from the contributory pension scheme.
In a video shared on social media platform X on Tuesday, the retirees were seen holding placards and chanting, “All we are saying, give us our right.”
See video below:
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