$15bn oil Deal:

Why Indian High Commissioner Is
After Me – Alison-maduake
Nigeria's former Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison-
Madueke, Yesterday, chided the Indian High
Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Ajjampur
Ghanashyam, over his allegations that as former
minister, Alison-Madueke 'sat' on a $15 billion oil
deal.
Alison-Madueke who spoke through her lawyers,
Messers Chike Amobi and Co., dismissed the
allegations, describing it as spurious, unfounded and
libelous.
According to her, the High commissioner, Mr.
Ghanashyam's acrimony towards her is due to the
refusal of the Federal Government of Nigeria to allow
the Indian company, Oil and Gas Commission Videsh
Limited (OVL), default on its contractual obligation to
provide a $6 billion investment, (around RS36, 600
crore) in an 180,000 barrels (bpd) Greenfield refinery
and 2,000 megawatt power plant or railway line from
East to West of Nigeria.
In a release made to journalists in Abuja on behalf of
the former minister, she said the publication by Mr.
Ajjampur R. Ghanashyam to the effect that she
delayed the approval of oil concession to twin Indian
companies, Oil and Gas Commission Videsh Limited
(OVL) and Mittal Energy International JV, OMEL
(MITTAL) in 2006, after receiving a $25,000,000.00
signature bonus, is spurious, false and lacking in
substance.
Madueke clarified that she was not the Minister of
Petroleum Resources in 2006 when the said Indian
companies entered into contractual agreement with
the Federal Government and as such wouldn't have
received any signature bonus either as citizen or
minister of the Federal Republic.
She also said she had no personal reason to sit on
the contract just as she wondered why the High
Commissioner would "choose to malign and attack
her rather than commend her acting dispassionately
in recommending for refund of the said signature
bonus to the Indians when the matter was brought to
her attention at the twilight of her tenure as
minister."
"When the issue of the request for refund, made by
OVL, was re-presented to me in May 2015, I
immediately prepared and dispatched a letter dated
13th May, 2015, Ref #: PI.LM/3900/S.693/Vol.1/78b, to
former President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (GCFR),
recommending for the refund of the said signature
bonus in compliance with the relevant and extant
laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which
requires such approvals to be granted by the
President, and implemented by the Federal Ministry
of Finance."
Mrs. Madueke further explained that the Federal
Government voided the contract with OVL because
the company wanted the Federal Government of
Nigeria to waive the commitments they made during
the bidding process which included investing $6
billion (around RS 36,600 crore) in an 180,000 barrels
per day (bpd) greenfield refinery, a 2000 megawatt
power plant or a railway line from East to West of
Nigeria, all of which were considered in granting the
concession in the first place.
On the allegation that the Indian High Commission to
Nigeria suggested that contrary to global best
practices in the industry, Mrs. Alison-Madueke used
intermediaries to receive payment for crude oil
transactions with India, clearly imputing a fraudulent
ill-feeling to the former minister's operation, she
explained that the contract in question was a
government to government crude oil sales
transaction with established procedures which
predates her tenure as minister.
She also said that the established procedure
stipulates that the buying country, in this case India,
selects and presents a local company as its agent to
transact on its behalf as it is never the responsibility
of selling country to select or nominate a company
for the buying country.
She maintained that Nigeria never dictated nor
suggested any intermediary or marketing company
for India for the purposes of the said transaction.
"Apparently, the Indian High Commission to Nigerian
mischievously obfuscated these facts to malign the
former Nigerian Petroleum Minister whilst not
disclosing that it was a government to government
crude sales transaction," the statement said.
The former Minister disclosed that what Mr.
Ajjampur R. Ghanashyam neglected to inform
Nigerians is that the oil concession was not granted
to Oil and Gas Commission Videsh Limited (OVL) and
Mittal Energy International JV, OMEL (MITTAL) due to
inability of their subsidiary EMO Exploration and
Production to meet cash obligation.
According to the lawyers acting on behalf of the
minister, "Mr. Ajjampur R. Ghanashyam's acrimony
towards our client is due to the refusal of the Federal
Government of Nigeria to allow OVL default on its
contractual obligation to Nigeria in the case of:
A $ 6 billion investment, (around RS 36, 600 crore) in
an 180,000 barrels (bpd) Greenfield refinery.
2,000 megawatt power plant or railway line from East
to West of Nigeria."
Mrs. Alison-Madueke said as a diplomat, the Indian
High Commissioner who should foster bilateral and
multilateral relations between his country and
Nigeria, belittled "such a lofty position by officiously
spreading false and misleading information
calculated to malign Nigerian public officials , a
conduct unbecoming of a foreign diplomat.
Indian-High-Commissioner-Ajjampur-Ghanashyam-
when-he-paid-a-courtesy-call-on-President-Muh
ammadu-Buhari-recently
"We believe the conduct of Mr. Ajjampur R.
Ghanashyam is aimed at damaging our client's
reputation for her insistence on protecting the
interests of the people of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria, and for not acceding to inappropriate
requests of his country to be relieved of its
contractual obligations to Nigeria.
"Based on the falsity and unfounded allegations
against our client, we firmly but humbly request an
unequivocal apology and a complete retraction of the
libelous statements from Mr. Ajjampur R.
Ghanashyam against our client."
Mrs. Madueke advised Mr. Ajjampur R. Ghanashyam
to govern his future conduct accordingly to prevent
the possibility of reoccurrence of any other events
that could potentially diminish the exalted office of a
diplomat he represents.
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