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NNPC GMD in $7 Billion Contract Controversy By Senior Fyneface
Nigeria is one interesting country where anything goes and it is taking casually as one of those things. If not, how can anybody explain that since the very serious allegation reported by some national media that the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has been fingered in the massive fraud and corruption that has drained the NNPC nothing has been said by either the accused person or the corporation.
Nigerians, at least have waited expectantly for the accused public officer to either deny or put the records straight. But rather than clear his name, the NNPC boss has decided to keep quite either because silent is not only golden but platinum especially in Nigeria or he his scared not to unveil other cans of worms. The second option looks more like it from all indications as a careful study of the facts and figures presented in the report shows the story came from within the NNPC system and from a highly placed or privileged office.
The media exposition alleged that companies owned directly or indirectly by Mr Funso Kupolokun, the Group Managing Director of NNPC, have cornered juicy oil contracts worth about $7 billion (N896 billion) since he took over the affairs of the nation’s apex oil concern from Jackson Gaius Obaseki in 2003.
First let us look at revelations in the alleged corruption as reported by the media. Three companies were specifically named as culprit and conduit pipes through which funds were siphoned. These include Crystalview Petroleum Consulting Limited with RC 258141, Crestville Engineering and Technology (RC 456402) and Technip Offshore Nigeria Limited (RC 375973).
According to the report, “The three companies have among themselves and in partnership with others, bagged several contracts among which is EGP 3B (Escravos Gas Project) FEED Studies worth about $10.3 million executed by Crestville/Technip joint venture.
“Also Technip/H. H. I. joint venture grabbed the $1. 072 billion Akpo floating production system field development in the controversial Oil Prospecting Lease (OPL) 246”.
Others included the “ULSAN/UKOT FPSO awarded to Tecnip/Saipem at $1. 36 billion; and the Olokola LNG awarded to TECNIP/JGC/KBR AT $1. 3 billion for dual Feeds and the Olokola LNG Project EPC 1.
“Three years after he became the GMD and after Crystalview had clinched several deals in NNPC, Kupolokun in an affidavit dated 4 January 2006 to complete CAC’s form CO2 revealed that he owns the company. ‘I am a director in the company known as Crystalview Petroleum Consulting… I make the affidavit bonafide believing the contents to be true and correct in accordance with the oaths law.’
“Crestville Engineering and Technology Limited was registered on 16 July 2002 at the time when Kupolokun was the Special Adviser to President Obasanjo on Petroleum Affairs.
“Technip Offshore Nigeria Limited which completes the triumvirate was registered on 22 February 2000 as Coflexip Stena Offshore Nigeria Limited with a share capital of N2 million. But on 12 February 2002 the name was changed to Tecnip Offshore Nigeria Limited by a board resolution. Its share capital was also increased.”
The report alleged that “a search by this paper at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Abuja lifted the veil of secrecy and revealed the players and powers behind the three companies. Crystalview Petroleum Consulting Limited was incorporated on 23 November 1994 with share capital of N1 million. Its directors were listed as Funso Kupolokun with 500, 000 shares while other four directors: Yetunde Kupolokun, Odunayo Kupolokun, Oluwole Kupolokun and Oluwakemi Kupolokun owed 125, 000 shares each.
Also, it was established that both Crestville and Technip Offshore have the same company secretary as revealed in the CAC forms CO2 and CO7. “It is noteworthy that the secretarial firm’s principal partner was a director of Coflexip Stena before its transformation to Technip Offshore”.
The offense if duly established and confirmed, represents a breach of the 5th Schedule of the 1999 constitution section 14 (11) otherwise known as the code of conduct for public officers. It represents a gross abuse of office by a by public officer in a government that has so much trumpeted achievements in the anti-corruption war.
As alleged, the three companies suddenly became superstars from nowhere grabbing juicy oil contract by short-circuiting due process. “How can lucrative jobs be awarded to just three companies on the sole excuse that President Obasanjo wanted those projects completed before his handover by May 29?” This is the big question.
So many things went wrong in the NNPC throughout the period that President Obasanjo acted as the corporation’s sole administrator. This era of management or rather mismanagement of the nation’s apex oil concern needs to be investigated by the National Assembly. Such investigation would not be geared towards witch-hunting anybody but to check or rather put a final stop to the cyclic sequence of such wanton abuse of office by the administrators of the corporation.
Earlier, NEITI had raised alarm over the double payment of pre-1999 joint venture cash call arrears to the tune of about $2 billion.
Also, the global transparency body had equally discovered that accounting for crude oil sales by NAPIMS, Calson Bermuda and its UK-based subsidiary could best be described as opaque and billions of dollars of oil revenues which would have been used for development programmes and infrastructures have been lost and are still been drained by a gang of few privileged thieves both at the Presidency and in the topmost management of the NNPC.
All the above allegations and many more which Nigerians are yet to know are tied the reign of the current group managing director of the NNPC who was called from retirement on a mission which only seems to achieve one thing: drain the NNPC of public funds and accumulate as much money as possible for both himself and the powers that be. How long can we continue on this part of transparency when in the public we are seriously engaged in transparency and anti-corruption campaign?
SENIOR FYNEFACE, ELELEWON STREET, GRA II, PORT HARCOURT (senior_fyneface@yahoo.com)
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