House Of Reps to summon Jonathan over OPL 245 deal

Nigeria’s former President Dr Goodluck Jonathan may soon face a House of Representatives inquiry into the award of Oil Prospecting Licencse (OPL) 245.

The House arrived at this resolution on Wednesday at plenary, where it issued the mandate to its ad-hoc committee on the investigation of alleged corruption, malpractices, and breach of due process in the award of Oil Prospecting Licence (OPL) 245.

A statement from the Chairman of the Committee, Mr Razak Atunwa, said the body is to among other things, conduct a thorough examination of the process and circumstances surrounding OPL 245.

It is also expected to identify culpability of any persons, groups or organisations in the controversial deal.

Mr Atunwa said the lawmakers believe that the former president may be in a position to assist it with its inquiries, adding that an announcement will be made once a formal firm decision is taken on the matter.

Meanwhile, Mr Jonathan has denied allegations that he received 200 million dollars from the 1.3 billion dollar payments made by international oil companies for access to a prime oil block in the nation’s Niger Delta region.

Dr. Jonathan said he did not know Dan Etete, a former oil minister and the architect of the controversial deal, who allegedly received a huge chunk of the payments from oil giant Shell for the lucrative oil block, which he owned.

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