By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Northern takeover of oil resources in the South initiated by Nigeria’s first Petroleum Minister Shetimma Monguno (1972-1975), and pursued through the military junta years, is being expanded by Muhammadu Buhari and his henchmen with impunity.
Concerns are being expressed in the oil industry and the National Assembly (NASS) over appointments to the two regulatory agencies established by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), insiders told PREMIUM TIMES.
There are fears that Northerners are exploiting access to Buhari to capture the more important upstream sector.
Before the PIA, Tunji Abayomi, human rights activist and Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, had expressed concern on how the insensitive Northern elite is destroying Nigeria’s peace and unity.
For example, all of the 25 senior executives of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) are from the North even though the oil they preside over is from the South, Abayomi told TheNiche on July 28.
The North, a leech on the South
About 95 per cent of lucrative oil bloc licences in the South is owned by people from the North East, where there is no oil exploration. The lopsided allocation was started by Monguno, who hailed from Borno State in the North East.
The general thinking in the North is that the South works for the North to enjoy. And the South, particularly the oil-producing states, feel cheated.
The Northern elite has had, and is fixated on, national political power. It also has leeway in the federal economy. Yet, the North is less educated than the South and is far poorer.
Round peg in square hole
Buhari on September 16 wrote two letters to Senate President Ahmad Lawan seeking confirmation of nominees to the boards of Upstream Regulatory Commission (URC) and Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDRA).
But two lawmakers separately told PREMIUM TIMES that there are concerns that the competence and background of the nominee chief executive officers (CEOs) do not fit their agencies.
Sarki Auwalu, Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) Director, with decades of upstream experience, is nominated as CEO of NMDRA, and Gbenga Komolafe, NNPC Group General Manager (Oil Marketing Division), as CEO of URC.
Komolafe had previously held senior managerial positions at the Pipelines and Petroleum Marketing Company (PPMC), Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF), and Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), agencies merged with the downstream section of the old DPR to form the new NMDRA.
Insiders say besides his former role in the marketing division, Komolafe is more suitable for NMDRA. As PPRA operations general manager, he is credited with having coordinated a seamless supply of petroleum products nationwide with multiplier sectorial effects in the economy.
Auwalu, on the other hand, is an upstream specialist, and in that area, as DPR Director, established acreage management strategy and ultimate beneficial owners’ register for petroleum assets.
Under him, DPR also launched the National Improved Oil Recovery Centre and added 3.6 trillion cubic feet of gas in reserve; recovered outstanding royalties of over $800 million owed by independent producers; implemented the Deepwater and Inland Basin Act, and generated additional $280 million.
Yet, Auwalu and Komolafe were nominated for positions that do not match their backgrounds and competence, sources said.
“The president wants a round peg in a round hole,” a source familiar with the development said. “But he was manipulated and you can critically review the two letters.”
In the two letters, seen by PREMIUM TIMES, “Commission” was used in the closing prayers, whereas PIA Sections 4(1) and 29(1) say that the upstream agency shall be known as “the commission” and NMDRA as “the authority”.
Limitations of Buhari
“They perhaps knew the limitations of the President and they knew seeing ‘commission’ in the letter bearing Auwalu’s name would make him assume it was the upstream body,” one source said.
Behind the shenanigans, sources said, are connected individuals led by Sabiu ‘Tunde’ Yusuf, regarded as one of the closest aides of Buhari. Another person mentioned is Abubakar Funtua, son of the late Isa Funtua, a close ally of Buhari.
They are believed to be colluding with a senior petroleum official and a businessman.
They are reportedly determined to control the upstream sector, which covers the management of petroleum reserves and installations, exploration, production, and development activities in onshore, frontier, shallow, deepwater offshore acreages, and all the licences and commercial regulations for the upstream purposes.
However, the group led by Yusuf is said to be “uncomfortable” with Auwalu, who is said to have exhibited an “unyielding” attitude in handling regulatory matters.
“An example is the Addax (oilfield) licence issue in which DPR was overruled after having earlier revoked their licence for not meeting agreed targets,” an insider said.
PREMIUM TIMES reported how the NNPC launched a blistering tackle on its sister agency, DPR, with a strong appeal to Buhari to reverse DPR’s revocation of the Addax’ OMLs and reject a reallocation to another company.
An official close to Petroleum Resources Minister of State Timipre Sylva said the minister is miffed by the development as he was not carried along in the nomination process.
NNPC spokesperson Garbadeen Mohammed did not answer calls from PREMIUM TIMES seeking his comment for this story.
Senate Upstream Committee Chairman Phillip Aduda said his committee would consider the qualifications of the nominees when they appear for confirmation.
Abayomi says Northern elite destroys Nigeria’s unity
Many Nigerians North and South criticise the Northern elite for their corruption and also stealing from their own people, keeping them poor, and oppressing them.
Abayomi said they greedily take over everything and abandon their children to the harsh fate which has led Nigeria, an otherwise great nation, into an unmitigated disaster.
“In Nigeria, virtually all the agencies, departments and institutions dealing with national security are headed by Northerners,” he told TheNiche.
“Since independence Northern political-military elites have run Nigeria like their regional property that must serve their reckless personal interest.
“So if Nigeria is in danger of collapse, Northern elites should hold themselves responsible for Nigeria’s collapse.”
