Former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke, has welcomed the Federal Government’s decision to resolve the long-running dispute surrounding Oil Prospecting Licence (OPL) 245, describing the development as a vindication of the role he played in the controversial oil block transaction during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Adoke made the remarks after the Federal Government announced a settlement connected to the disputed offshore oil block involving international oil companies Eni and Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited.
The resolution forms part of a broader move by the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to unlock investment and development in the deepwater asset after years of legal and political disputes.
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Reacting to the development, Adoke said he “wholeheartedly” welcomed the implementation of the OPL 245 resolution agreements, noting that the arrangement had originally been reached nearly 15 years earlier under the Jonathan administration as an effort to settle competing claims to the oil block and place the asset on a path to production.
He commended President Tinubu for concluding the process and described the move as a demonstration of leadership and an understanding of the economic importance of the oil asset to Nigeria’s broader development goals. According to him, resolving the dispute would allow the country to fully harness one of its most commercially promising offshore resources.
Despite welcoming the settlement, the former minister renewed his call for an apology from the Federal Government over what he described as years of persecution and public humiliation linked to the deal. Adoke argued that his actions as attorney-general were taken in the national interest and that subsequent legal developments had vindicated him.
He criticised the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari for reopening the issue and pursuing legal actions that, in his view, wrongly portrayed the 2011 agreement as fraudulent. Adoke maintained that the renewed investigations and prosecutions caused reputational damage and prolonged legal battles both within Nigeria and in foreign jurisdictions.
The former AGF stated that he deserved an “unreserved apology” from the government for the years of strain and defamation he said he endured because of his involvement in resolving the dispute. Nevertheless, he said he had chosen to forgive those who criticised or prosecuted him, describing the episode as part of the burdens associated with public service.
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OPL 245, widely regarded as one of Nigeria’s most valuable deepwater oil assets, has been the subject of complex legal battles and corruption allegations for decades. The block was originally awarded to Malabu Oil and Gas in 1998 and later became the centre of a $1.1 billion transaction involving Shell and Eni in 2011, triggering investigations and court cases across multiple jurisdictions before several courts cleared key parties of wrongdoing.
The latest settlement by the Federal Government is expected to remove longstanding legal uncertainties and pave the way for renewed investment and development of the oil field, which could significantly boost Nigeria’s oil production capacity once fully operational.
Image Credit: Channel.ng
Source: Channel.ng
