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.
He challenged Aminu to deny his claim, stressing that he has documents to back his allegation.
David-West said: “None of those oil blocks was awarded during General Buhari’s regime. All these terrible management of oil started during the tenure of Babangida when most of the strict rules were set aside. “It is very unacceptable and politically explosive to have a situation where 83 per cent of oil blocs belong to people from a particular section of the country, especially when oil is the main stay of the country’s economy.”
He was shocked one of the oil blocks belongs to Rilwan Lukman, a former Minister of Petroleum. “It is very unfortunate and terrible for an oil minister to own an oil block. It is corruption. During Buhari’s tenure, we kept strictly to the rules – due process. A situation where an oil minister owns oil block or petrol stations is the height of corruption,” he said.
David-West urged the government to get to the root of the revelation, saying the allegations must not be brushed aside.
He said: “When I was a minister, I didn’t have an oil block or petrol station. Owning an oil block is like owning diamond mine. It translates to billions of dollars. It is the height of indiscipline and corruption. To show how reckless the management of oil was under Babangida, Prof. Jubril Aminu as oil minister personally awarded oil blocks to people without reference to President Babangida. I have the documents. I challenge him to dispute my claim.”
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