Buhari Reverses Authorization On Mobil, Seplat Deal

By Tolulope Oke

The President, Muhammadu Buhari has evoked his approval of Seplat Energy Offshore Limited acquiring the entire share capital of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited.

This comes barely 24 hours after the President granted approval to the leading energy company to purchase the Mobil Nigeria assets and instructed the NNPCL and other parties to see to the transaction’s completion.

The NNPC and Seplat have been at loggerheads over this issue, which resulted in a legal dispute. The NNPCL was granted a court interim order in Abuja High Court stopping Exxon from completing any divestment in a unit that ultimately operates four licenses in the country, earlier last month.

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Punch reported that The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, provided an update on the situation, however, and explained that Buhari had reversed the decision and that the prior misinterpretation was caused by the “agencies involved in (the) decision having not coordinated well among themselves.

According to him, the confusion over ExxonMobil shares was because “the various agencies involved in the decision had not coordinated well among themselves and having looked at all of the facts with all of the ramifications, the president decided the position of the regulator is to be supported.”