Former Petroleum Resources Minister, Prof. Tam David-West, yesterday blamed former military president, Gen. Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida (rtd) for the lopsidedness in the award of oil blocks in favour of Northerners.
David-West, who spoke to The Nation in Ibadan on the heels of the revelations that 83 per cent of oil blocks are owned by Northerners, described the situation as “unacceptable and politically explosive.”
He recalled that as minister under Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, no oil block was awarded without following due process. He also emphasised that none of the highlighted oil blocks was awarded during Buhari’s tenure.
The professor of Virology said strict rules were set aside during Babangida’s regime in awarding the blocks, adding that his successor in office, Prof. Jubril Aminu, even awarded an oil bloc without reference to Babangida who was the Head of State then.
