Nigeria’s 2025 oil licensing bid round has come under renewed scrutiny following allegations by industry stakeholders that irregularities may have affected the integrity of the competitive bidding process, raising concerns over transparency, investor confidence and regulatory governance in the country’s upstream petroleum sector.
The allegations, contained in submissions by a coalition of concerned stakeholders in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, have triggered calls for an independent investigation into the conduct of the licensing exercise and the roles of officials involved in supervising the process.
The stakeholders, led by Dele Olasile, Chairman of the Coalition of Concerned Stakeholders in Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Industry, alleged that aspects of the qualification and evaluation stages of the bid round require urgent clarification to assure investors and participants that the process was conducted fairly and transparently.
At the centre of the controversy are claims that some prospective bidders were allegedly approached by individuals said to have influence within the regulatory structure and were asked to make substantial payments in exchange for favourable consideration during the evaluation process.
The allegations have not been independently verified, and no evidence sufficient to establish the claims has been publicly confirmed.
Allegations involving officials
Some industry sources who spoke on the matter referenced the names of Olalekan Abiola, identified by the sources as the Coordinator of the Office of the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Ms Meyiwa Eyesan.
The sources alleged that the officials played influential roles in aspects of the licensing process and called for an independent review of the decision-making structure surrounding the bid round.
The allegations against the named individuals have not been independently verified, and no evidence establishing wrongdoing by any person mentioned has been presented in this report.
Industry stakeholders said that any investigation should examine the roles of all officials involved in the licensing exercise, the procedures followed during evaluation, and whether adequate safeguards were maintained to protect the integrity of the process.
Claims of improper influence
One source, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, claimed that some companies were made to believe that unofficial payments could improve their chances of securing highly prospective oil assets.
Another industry participant alleged that a bidder who claimed to have made such a payment did not eventually secure the licence and was considering presenting documentary materials, including alleged audio recordings of communications, to relevant authorities should a formal investigation commence.
The existence, authenticity and contents of such materials have not been independently verified.
If proven, industry experts say any attempt to influence a competitive licensing process through unofficial payments would represent a serious breach of Nigeria’s petroleum regulatory framework and could damage confidence in future licensing exercises.
Questions over evaluation scores
Beyond the allegations of improper influence, stakeholders have also raised concerns over aspects of the technical evaluation process, pointing to what they described as unusually high scores awarded to some successful applicants.
They are demanding greater transparency from the regulator, including the publication of the evaluation framework, scoring methodology and relevant documentation to demonstrate that all bidders were assessed using the same criteria.
Some sources also questioned the scores awarded to certain companies during the evaluation process, including claims surrounding the performance of some successful bidders. However, the specific evaluation details and scoring records have not been independently verified.
Energy governance experts say transparency in competitive licensing remains a global best practice, helping to reduce disputes, strengthen investor confidence and ensure that awards are based on clear and measurable requirements.
Calls for forensic review
The stakeholders are urging the Federal Government to commission an independent forensic review of the 2025 Licensing Bid Round.
Among the issues they want examined are:
- Whether published qualification requirements were applied uniformly to all participants;
- Whether all successful bidders met mandatory prequalification conditions;
- Whether any exemptions or waivers were granted during the process;
- Whether evaluation scores reflected the approved criteria;
- Whether any conflicts of interest existed among officials involved in decision-making;
- Whether communications between regulators and bidders complied with applicable rules.
Analysts say an independent review would help determine the credibility of the allegations while providing clarity to investors and industry operators.
Investor confidence at stake
The controversy comes at a time Nigeria is seeking billions of dollars in fresh upstream investment to increase crude oil production, replace declining reserves and strengthen government revenues.
Industry observers warn that perceptions of regulatory inconsistency, even where allegations are eventually unproven, can affect investor confidence by increasing uncertainty for international oil companies, indigenous operators and financial institutions.
“Investors are less concerned about who wins a licence than whether everyone competed under the same transparent rules,” a petroleum governance specialist said.
One of the sources who pleaded anonymity told our correspondent that the Olalekan Abiola, formerly at NNPCL, asked him to pay $2 million dollars for a favorable license bid round process but after receiving the huge sum on behalf of the NUPRC CCE, Meyiwa Eyesan, didn’t deliver on the promise
He calls on EFCC, ICPC, the presidency to launched investigation into this fraudulent scheme of 2025 licensing bid round process that just concluded.
