Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, n the last general election, has said that the President Bola Tinubu administration owe Nigerians an explanation over a $3.3 billion emergency crude repayment loan secured by the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, on August 16, 2023.
Recall that on August 16, 2023, the current administration secured the loan through the NNPCL, which the apex petroleum company said was to help give support to the Naira and stabilize the Foreign Exchange market.
Atiku said that the curious thing about the transaction was that up till now, the Federal Government continued to keep mum about it, with the only information available to the public on the mega deal coming only through unofficial sources from the NNPCL.
The deal is supposed to be a crude-for-cash loan arranged by the African Export-Import Bank.
According to information available, a Special Purpose Vehicle called Project Gazelle Funding Limited is driving the deal, and it was incorporated in the Bahamas.
The SPV is the borrower, while the NNPCL is the sponsor, with an agreement to pay with crude oil to the SPV in order to liquidate the loan at an interest rate that is a little over 12 per cent.
The former Vice President noted that what was even more confounding about the deal was 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.
The former Presidential candidate said that curiously also, Nigeria’s current Barrels Produced Daily (BPD) is 1.38 million, and according to the Project Gazelle deal, Nigeria is to supply 90,000 Barrels of its daily production, starting from 2024 till 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 whooping $12bn,” he added.
“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 $3.3b with an interest rate that is not more than 12 per cent, but with estimated repayment amounting to $12bn.
“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.
“There are questions to be answered on the integrity of this deal, and we earnestly request the Federal Government to talk directly on these cloudy details behind the deal.
“We therefore demand, on behalf of the ordinary people of Nigeria, that the Federal Government provides 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 to the loan, including tenor, repayment terms, the collateral, and the interest rate? And, lastly, why register an SPV in the Bahamas knowing the recent scandal of the country’s notoriety for warehousing unclean assets?” He queried.
