Updated: Malabu Oil Deal: Reps invite Goodluck Jonathan

The house of representatives ad hoc committee probing the award of oil prospecting licence (OPL) 245 to Malabu Oil and Gas has invited ex-President Goodluck Jonathan to testify in the ongoing investigations.

The committee invited Jonathan on Wednesday morning.

The lawmakers started focusing on Jonathan after Buzzfeed, an American news website, reported that Jonathan benefited from the sale of oil block.

In April, Razak Atunwa, chairman of the committee, said the lawmakers were considering inviting Jonathan to assist in its inquiries.

“The committee is aware of recent information that has come to light, both nationally and internationally, indicating that former president Goodluck Jonathan may have been complicit in the controversial OPL 245 deal,” Atunwa had said.

“These facts have firmly placed former president Jonathan on the committee’s radar. The committee believes that former president Jonathan may well be in a position to assist it with its inquiries.”

Jonathan has since denied the allegation that he benefited from the deal, saying it was struck before he became president.

The sale of the block, which is considered as one of the most lucrative on the continent, has been replete with allegations and lawsuits.

In the deal finally consummated in 2011, only $210 million of the $1.3 billion paid by Shell and Eni for the block went into federal government coffers as “signature bonus”.

The rest was paid to Malabu Oil and Gas, mainly owned by Dan Etete, who, as petroleum minister in 1998, had awarded the lucrative licence to himself.

The sale to Malabu was nullified by Obasanjo in 1999 and assigned to Shell — without a public bid.

Ownership was suspiciously reverted to Malabu thereafter, leading to legal action by Shell who later resorted to negotiating directly with Etete after Jonathan assumed office in 2010.

A year later, the $1.3 billion deal was struck, with Malabu getting $1.1 billion from Shell and Eni to its transfer ownership, while the signature bonus was paid to Nigeria.