14 December 2016, Abuja – The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has said that Nigeria has lost billions of naira in the award of Oil Prospecting License (OPL) 245 to some companies.
Speaking at the opening of an investigative hearing on the alleged sharp practices in the award of OPL 245, Dogara said Nigeria would have realized a lot of money from the deal if the right thing was done.
“The Oil Prospecting License (OPL) 245 is a potentially lucrative oil block encompassing a massive area of 1,958 square kilometers with two deep water fields estimated to hold about 9.2 billion barrels of crude oil which award is shrouded in controversy, scandals, corruption, and breach of due process that resulted to monumental revenue loss to the country.
“In the face of dwindling revenue of the country, there is the need for the country to intensify efforts to access funds for the finance of its developmental and infrastructural projects,” he said.
Dogara added that the OPL 245 has a long running history and has been subject of many investigations, hence the need to put a finality to the matter.
- Daily Trust