Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has tasked the federal government with providing explanations for the $3.3 billion emergency crude repayment loan secured through the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
In a statement he personally issued on Thursday, he noted that a simple calculation of the repayment interest at 12% shows that it would cost the country about $12 billion, which is about $7 billion above the loan.
Atiku recalled that in what appeared to be a landmark economic decision of the Bola Tinubu-led administration, last year, precisely on August 16, 2023, through the NNPC, it secured a $3.3 billion emergency crude repayment loan.
He pointed out that the company had explained then that it was to help give support to the naira and stabilise the foreign exchange market.
But according to him, “the curious thing about this transaction is that up until now, the Federal Government has continued to keep mum about it, and the only information available to the public on the mega-deal is coming only through unofficial sources from the NNPC.
“The deal is supposed to be a crude-for-cash loan arranged by the African Export-Import Bank.”
He said, according to the information available, a special-purpose vehicle called Project Gazelle Funding Limited is driving the deal, and it was incorporated in the Bahamas.
The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election added: “The SPV is the borrower while the NNPC is the sponsor, with an agreement to pay crude oil to the SPV in order to liquidate the loan at an interest rate that is a little over 12 per cent.
“What is even more confounding about this deal is why the Federal Government would register a company in the Bahamas, knowing full well the recent scandal of the Paradise Papers that involved that country.
“Curiously also, Nigeria’s current barrels produced daily (BPD) are 1.38 million, and according to the Project Gazelle deal, Nigeria is to supply 90,000 barrels of its daily production, starting in 2024, until it is up to 164.25 million barrels for the repayment of the loan.
“Now, this is where the details get disturbing because Nigeria’s benchmark for the sale of crude per barrel in 2024 is $77.96. A simple multiplication of that figure by 164.25 will give us a whopping $12 billion.
“It is on this note that we are calling on the Federal Government to speak up on this shady deal.
“It is inconceivable that the Federal Government will lead the country to take a loan of $3.3 billion with an interest rate that is not more than 12 per cent but with an estimated repayment amounting to $12 billion.
“That is a humongous differential of about $7b between what is in the details of the deal on paper and what indeed is the reality.”
He stated that there are questions to be answered on the integrity of the deal, “and we earnestly request the Federal Government to talk directly about these cloudy details behind the deal.”
Atiku, therefore, stated: “We therefore demand, on behalf of the ordinary people of Nigeria, that the Federal Government provide answers to the following questions.
“Has the Federal Government accessed the loan?
“Is the loan in the government’s borrowing plan as approved by the National Assembly?
“Who are the parties to the loan, and what specific roles are they expected to play?
“What are the conditions of the loan, including the tenor, repayment terms, collateral, and interest rate?
“And, lastly, why register an SPV in the Bahamas knowing the recent scandal of the country’s notoriety for warehousing unclean assets?”
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