President Muhammadu Buhari rescinds his earlier decision, authorising the acquisition of ExxonMobil shares by Seplat Energy Offshore Limited.
The President had on Monday granted assent to the deal in which Seplat will acquire 40% stake of ExxonMobil oil assets around Akwa Ibom State, South-South Nigeria.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, told AIT.live in a phone call on Wednesday evening that the President has withdrawn his approval of the deal.
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He says the President had decided to back the regulator, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, which had on Tuesday insisted on its refusal of assent to the ExxonMobil-Seplat Energy share acquisition worth $1.3 billion.
The NUPRC had clarified that the Commission in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 is the sole regulator in dealing with such matters in the country’s upstream sector.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
