By Umar Muhammad Puma
The House of Representatives has resolved to set and Ad-hoc committee to investigate and established the validity of the inadvertent sale of Oil Mining Lease 29 (OML), and others OML’s by the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), and other oil majors.
This is sequel to a motion read by Rep Irona Alphonsus (PDP Imo), who noted that item 12 (1) of the first schedule to the petroleum act stipulated that ten years after the grant of an oil mining lease, one half of the area of the lease shall be relinquished to the government.
He stressed that OML 29 has been in the custody of the Shell petroleum development company for more than fifty two years and one half of the area of the lease has not been relinquished to the federal government as stipulated by the act.
“Against the stipulation of the act, the Shell Petroleum Development Company in direct contravention of the petroleum act, sold OML 29 and other, thereby undermines the national interest”.
He express concerned that the Shell Petroleum Development Company and other oil major may have hidden under the cover of waivers usually granted by the Minister of Petroleum resources to embark on the sale of the OML’s.
The motion was unanimously adopted by the House, and urged that the ad-hoc committee should validate the transaction and report back to the House within two weeks.
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