Diezani gave out $24bn in illegal crude swap deal

A former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Mr. Austin Oniwon, has told the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee on Crude Oil Swap that the former minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke unilaterally gave approval for lifting of $24bn worth of crude oil from the country without formal contracts.

He told the committee on Tuesday, that trading companies in the informal deal had access to the nation’s crude between 2011 and 2014.
He said that Mrs. Alison-Madueke, merely granted an “extension” of an earlier contract, which he explained, was not formalised up until he left office in 2012.
He told the committee headed by Zakari Mohammed (APC Kwara State) that “There was an approval for the extension by the minister; I believe the records are with the NNPC”.
The companies had earlier told the committee that their contract for the crude swap was awarded in 2010 to last for one year. But that indeed they continued crude lifting till 2014 before a contract was formalised.
According to one of the lawmakers, Mr. Michael Enyong, , “These companies had lifted crude worth $24bn before the contract was signed in 2014 and backdated to look like it was signed in 2011 when the first one expired.”
Oniwon’s successor, Mr. Andrew Yakubu, also appeared before the committee to say that he made efforts to review the swap arrangement with a view to correcting noticeable lapses, but that he was frustrated.