Okey Ikechukwu: The Amukpe–Escravos Pipeline Must Not Be Sold Below Value, Current Process ‘Not Right’
Okey Ikechukwu warns the Amukpe–Escravos Pipeline must not be undervalued, calls current transaction process flawed.
Okey Ikechukwu warns the Amukpe–Escravos Pipeline must not be undervalued, calls current transaction process flawed.
Excecutuve Director, Development Specs Academic, Okey Ikechukwu has warned that Nigeria risks losing value on a strategic The Amukpe–Escravos pipeline asset if the current transaction process is allowed to proceed without a fresh valuation.
Speaking in an interview with ARISE NEWS on Tuesday, he argued that the ongoing transaction process raises serious questions about pricing, procedure, and transparency in the handling of strategic national assets.
“If that is allowed to happen, it means there is no governance. It means that people can exercise arbitrary discretion. It means that processes can be routinely violated.”
He stressed that any attempt to proceed with the transaction under disputed or outdated valuation terms would be fundamentally flawed. “If it’s being valued as somebody wants to purchase it, it has to pay that value. So we are not under any desperate need to sell it at a give-away price and that’s what’s going on here. So if that is allowed to happen, it means there is no governance.”
According to him, the The Amukpe–Escravos pipeline in question is a performing national asset and must be treated with strict adherence. “Well, as far as I’m concerned, it’s a performing national asset up to 95%. If you must sell a performing national asset, it must be at the right value.
Pretend it’s not terminated and conclude the appeal in 2026. Ladies and gentlemen, I don’t think that’s how it should work.”
Ikechukwu illustrated his concern with a comparison to a failed private land transaction that is later revived at an outdated price, saying “Such a scenario would be unacceptable in any serious commercial environment.”
He further warned that proceeding without updated valuation could damage investor confidence. “But beyond all of that, where will investor confidence be? If you’re a lender, how do you feel in this kind of environment? It might even be speaking of sabotage.”
Beyond pricing concerns, he said the broader issue was institutional credibility. “If that is allowed to happen, it means there is no governance. It means that people can exercise arbitrary discretion. It means that processes can be routinely violated.”
The development expert therefore called for an immediate halt to all steps related to the sale. “All processes leading up to the presumed attempt to sell it now should be stopped. Quite frankly, terminated an independent evaluation should take place so that we know what is on the table by current value today and we don’t lose money in the process of selling.”
