Nigeria’s former attorney general, Mohammed Adoke, has demanded an apology from the federal government after it moved to implement long-delayed settlement agreements over the controversial OPL 245 oil block.
Adoke said the decision by the administration of Bola Tinubu to proceed with the agreements vindicated the actions taken during the presidency of Goodluck Jonathan, when the dispute over the lucrative offshore asset was first resolved.
In a statement issued on Friday, the former justice minister welcomed the government’s move, nearly 15 years after negotiations were concluded between the parties involved in the contentious licence.
“I wholeheartedly welcome the decision of the federal government of Nigeria to finally implement the OPL 245 resolution agreements nearly 15 years after the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan resolved the knotty disputes between the concerned parties and tried to set the oil-rich block on the path to productivity,” Adoke said.
The former minister also praised Tinubu’s intervention, describing it as an act of statesmanship that could unlock the economic value of the oil asset.
“I also commend President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for finally resolving this thorny issue in the national interest and in the spirit of statesmanship,” he said. “This is a testimony to the fact that he fully understands how the economy works and the importance of the oil-rich asset to the attainment of national economic goals.”
However, Adoke sharply criticised the administration of Muhammadu Buhari, accusing it of criminalising the earlier efforts of officials under Jonathan to resolve the dispute.
The controversy surrounding OPL 245, one of Nigeria’s most valuable offshore oil blocks, has spanned more than two decades and has been linked to a series of legal battles and international investigations. Adoke said the dispute could be traced back to the revocation of the licence in 2002 under former president Olusegun Obasanjo, which he said triggered years of litigation and diplomatic tensions.
According to Adoke, his role in resolving the dispute while serving as attorney general subjected him to prolonged humiliation and reputational damage both within Nigeria and abroad.
“It is most unfortunate that I was subjected to humiliation and defamation at home and abroad for the patriotic role I played as the attorney general of the federation and minister of justice in resolving the dispute to get this vital national asset working,” he said.
The former minister argued that the country’s economy would have benefited far earlier if the matter had not been delayed by years of political controversy and legal challenges.
“If the Buhari administration and the trophy-hunting anti-corruption activists had not dragged the country backwards with their uninformed intervention, the Nigerian economy would have been far better off today,” he said.
Adoke said the experience amounted to nearly a decade of persecution and insisted he was owed a formal apology from the government.
“I strongly believe that I deserve an unreserved apology from the federal government for the persecution and humiliation I was subjected to for nine years,” he said.
Despite the dispute, Adoke said he had forgiven those he accused of attempting to tarnish his reputation.
“Nevertheless, I forgive all those who connived to smear my name across the world,” he said. “I take it as part of the burden of service to my fatherland. I remain steadfast and unshaken in my belief in Nigeria.”
