Reps query CBN over OPLs, OMLs payments

AHouse of Representatives adhoc panel yesterday queried the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over several payments on royalties, application fees and signature bonuses made for Oil Prospecting Licenses (OPLs) and Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) made by some oil companies.

The ad-hoc panel headed by Rep Gideon Gwani (PDP, Kaduna) said during an investigative hearing yesterday in Abuja that based on available records before it, there were different claims on the payments which directly affected the apex bank.

The committee said while the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) claimed in its documents that Conoil, which got OPL 257 paid the sum of $100 million, documents by the Minister of Justice and Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami showed that the same amount of money was missing.

The committee, set up by the House to ascertain whether due process was followed in the transactions of oil and gas assets, therefore demanded the CBN to provide full details and all other documents related to the transactions as well as DPR’s statement of accounts since 2002.

“There are several contradictions contained in the document submitted to us by DPR and AGF. We must get to root of this matter that is why we asked the CBN to provide us with the statement of accounts of the DPR, so we can be sure we got the right document from DPR,” a member of the committee, Diri Duoye (PDP, Bayelsa) said.

Responding, CBN Deputy Governor, Bayo Adelabu, said the apex bank has been in discussion with JP Morgan to provide the statement and other details needed.

He said based on their discussion with JP Morgan, any information on a particular account exceeding seven years could only be achieved over time.

“We can assure this committee that we would reopen the discussion with JP Morgan to provide these statements. Some of the documents were filed manually from 2002, but we will do all it takes to provide the document to the committee,” he said.

The committee also summoned a former Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Funsho Kupolokun, for his role in the transaction.