Falana to Buhari: Stop allocation of oil blocks to individuals, companies

Human right lawyer, Femi Falana SAN, says allocation of oil blocks to few individuals and companies by the Federal Government violates the fundamental rights of Nigerians to freedom from discrimination.

In a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari weekend, he requested that such allocation be stopped.

He urged Buhari to desist from allocating oil blocks to a select group of Nigerians and foreigners.

He warned that failure to accede to the request would make him challenge the constitutional validity of such allocation.

He commended the Federal Government for revoking a number of oil blocks and marginal fields hitherto allocated to a few individuals as well as local and foreign corporate bodies by former military and civilian regimes in Nigeria.

He, however, urged the government to desist from renewing the remaining licences of other oil blocks owners in the country.

According to him, having acquired the “entire property in and control or all minerals, mineral oils and natural gas in, under or upon any land in Nigeria or in, under or upon the territorial waters” and vested same in the FG on behalf of the people of Nigeria pursuant to section 44(3) of the Constitution it is inequitable, illegal and unconstitutional to allocate the nation’s oil blocks to a few individuals and corporate bodies including multinational corporations.

He said majority of the owners of the oil blocks belonging to the Nigerian people usually sub-lease them to offshore companies as they lack the fund and the technical expertise to develop the oil and gas industry.

“By merely collecting huge rents, the oil block owners become stupendously rich while the federal, state and local governments depend on loans and bailout to pay salaries and carry out basic infrastructural development of the country.

“Thus, by allocating oil blocks to a few individuals and corporate bodies the Federal Government has violated Section 16(2)(c) of the Constitution which provides that “the economic system is not operated in such a manner as to permit the concentration of wealth or the means of production and exchange in the hands of few individuals or of a group,” he said.