Ex-president Buhari’s gas deal under senate probe
The Senate, on Thursday, directed its committee on power to probe the multi-million-dollar gas agreement undertaken by the erstwhile Buhari-led administration.
The senate probe is expected to take place once the standing committees are constituted.
Zainab Ahmed, then minister of finance, had initiated the deal expected to see unused gas (make-up gas) converted into Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) for export.
Ahmed hired Ahmed Zakari & Co as transaction advisers, whose role is to liaise with Calabar Generation Company Limited (Calabar GenCo) and Accugas Ltd on how the make-up gas could be converted to LNG.
In his motion he sponsored, Senator Aniekan Bassey, (Akwa Ibom north-east), said that the Make-up Gas Reprocessing (MUGR) deal could land the federal government in legal troubles.
He said, “The then minister of finance, budget and national planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, initiated the MUG deal involving Calabar GenCo and Accugas,” the senator said.
“The controversial MUG deal was devoid of transparency even in the fees paid to the transaction advisers.”
Another senator, Aminu Abbas (Adamawa central), said it was necessary to probe the deal. “It is an issue that involves a huge amount of money,” Abbas said.
He added, “The controversial MUG deal was devoid of transparency even in the fees paid to the transaction advisers.”
“If we look into it, it will help this country. The sum of $10 million is not a small amount of money.”
In 2020, Accugas issued a “notice of non-payment” of $15.8 million arising from the deal to the federal government.
The Gas Supply Agreement, signed in May 2017, mandates Nigeria to pay Accugas over $10 million monthly with or without gas supply to the Calabar GenCo, owned by Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) Ltd.
