Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has reiterated his Sunday position that the OPL 245 matter is far from resolved, noting that it remains the subject of multiple subsisting legal proceedings, including cases before the Supreme Court and the Federal High Court.
His latest reaction followed comments by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, on Wednesday, who described Atiku’s intervention as efforts aimed at derailing progress for narrow personal or political gain.
In his statement, Fagbemi said that national interest must not be sacrificed on the altar of hidden agendas and urged the public to be guided by the most recent and authoritative judicial pronouncement on the matter.
He cited Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited v. Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd (2025) 15 NWLR (Pt 2009) 551, in which the Court of Appeal dismissed Malabu’s challenge to the allocation of OPL 245 to Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited, holding that the action was statute-barred and constituted an abuse of court process.
However, in a statement released on Thursday by the Atiku Media Office, Waziri Adamawa said his attention had been drawn to remarks credited to the Attorney-General, suggesting that opposition voices on the OPL 245 matter were driven by self-interest rather than patriotism.
He described the assertion as both misleading and an attempt to divert attention from the substantive legal and factual issues surrounding the so-called “resolution” of the OPL 245 dispute.
The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2023 stated that his position was “firmly grounded in publicly available documents, including, but not limited to, the pre-action notice issued by Malabu Oil and Gas Limited to the relevant authorities, which raises serious legal objections to the purported settlement.”
He said these documents clearly indicated that key stakeholders have disputed the legitimacy of the claimed resolution, emphasising that they were neither consulted nor involved in any negotiation process and that multiple suits on the asset remain pending before competent courts.
The chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) said it “is therefore not only disingenuous but deeply troubling for the Attorney-General to dismiss legitimate concerns—rooted in documented legal processes—as ‘self-interest’.’”
He added that the Attorney-General might do well to address the substantive issues raised in their earlier intervention instead of resorting to propaganda.
The statement read: ‘In any constitutional democracy, raising questions based on verifiable records is not opposition—it is responsibility, which the ruling APC has clearly departed from. The issues at stake are too serious for political spin. OPL 245 is not a mere talking point; it is one of the most consequential oil assets in Nigeria, long entangled in complex litigation and international scrutiny. What Nigerians deserve is transparency, adherence to due process, and respect for ongoing judicial proceedings—not premature declarations of victory or attempts to silence scrutiny with cheap and weak propaganda.
“We wish to state for the record that Atiku Abubakar does not have an interest in OPL 245, has never had an interest in the contentious OPL 245, and will never have an interest in OPL 245. We reiterate that our intervention is guided solely by the public interest and the need to uphold the rule of law. No amount of rhetoric can erase the existence of pending legal disputes or invalidate concerns already raised by affected parties through formal legal channels.
“If anything, the Attorney-General’s response underscores the very need for greater openness and accountability on this matter. Nigeria cannot build credibility—locally or internationally—by ignoring documented facts or dismissing legitimate questions. The rule of law must remain supreme.”
On 8 March, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice stated that the resolution of the longstanding dispute over OPL 245 would reposition the economy and strengthen the country’s fiscal capacity.
He spoke after the signing of the legal agreement, which he said had brought the dispute to an end in Abuja, and described the development as a milestone in repositioning Nigeria’s economic landscape.
A statement released by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Information and Strategy, disclosed that the federal government reached this settlement with Eni and Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited (NAEL), effectively ending the protracted dispute over OPL 245.
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