Nigeria: Agency Seeks Openness in Oil Licenses Bids
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This Day (Lagos)
July 3, 2006
Posted to the web July 3, 2006
Sheriff Balogun
Lagos
The Federation of Global Watchdog, an affiliate of Transparency International in Finland, Scandinavia, has called on the Federal Government to demonstrate transparency, accountability and openness in the recent Bid Round for oil licenses.
The group in a statement signed by Mervi Nystrom, Programmes Co-ordinator, warned that there has been alleged cases of controversy which have trailed the 2005 Oil license bid round, a situation which is not in conformity with global bidding standards and procedures.
While urging President Olusegun Obasanjo to probe the whole exercise and correct the alleged wrongs, the FGW noted that this is necessary to assure international investors, global monitors and members of the international community that Nigeria and her President is committed to its avowed war on corruption.
The statement which was also forwarded to Transparency International (TI) in Germany, said: "Indeed the participation of the major oil companies in the bid round was insignificant as a result of this expected controversy because what is at stake is the indigenous oil companies that are being allegedly short-changed."
It added, "The Federation of Global Watchdog does not only condemn this controversy and alleged ethical misconducts by officials but also wish to say that the whole exercise should be probed by President Obasanjo because of the need to redress the worsening situation immediately. At the end of the investigation, those short-changed should be issued their licenses while those that need re-validation, should be revalidated accordingly."
The FGW also added," We also call on all other global anti-corruption monitors to intervene and ensure that correction of the wrongs is transparent, open and just, for anything short of this, would amount to an official endorsement of corruption by the Nigerian government."
IT would be recalled that controversy had trailed the oil block bid round, leading to a situation whereby South Atlantic Petroleum owned by Gen.T.Y. Danjuma had gone to court for adjudication on the matter of OPL 246. Warning that Nigeria is too important to be toyed with, the group urged all stakeholders, especially President Obasanjo and international monitors to resolve the issues involved in the lingering controversies.
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"It would interest all to note that Nigeria is the world's 5th largest producer of crude oil and the sixth highest exporter of the product at the global oil market. Nigeriaís export, for instance, account for 8% of the US crude oil imports. Thus, in Europe and North America, Nigeria has emerged as a significant nation endowed with rich oil resource.
With an expanding population , oil and gas account for 98% of the country's external earnings and 85% of her federally generated revenue.
Therefore, the oil and gas sector holds the sway in Nigeria, one of Africa's most significant nations and it is against this background that the Federation of Global Watchdogs reiterate its call on President Obasanjo, global anti-corruption agencies and the international community to intervene to resolve all controversies".
