•Petrocam lied, our tank farm not sealed by EFCC
By Willy Eya
Management of Obat Oil and Petroleum Ltd yesterday, denied reports, which alleged the oil firm diverted N1.2 billion subsidy. The firm also debunked reports that its tank farms had been sealed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
In a statement, yesterday, Head of its Legal Department, Mr. Seun Bakare described the publications as not only “malicious but orchestrated to disturb its business.”
Bakare said while it was true that Obat Oil had business transactions with Petrocam that failed to implement the transaction according to the terms and agreement, it will not succumb to blackmail when Petrocam refused to allow accountants of the two companies reconcile their accounts.
Part of the statement read: “The transactions which gave rise to the false reports and the spurious claims from which they have sprung have already been submitted to the court for consideration and ordinarily should not be the subject of discourse or advertorials.
“However, Petrocam Trading has gone out of its way to lodge false complaints against us and set in motion a sequence of events that have been widely reported.
“We are, therefore, constrained to protect our professional goodwill, integrity and reputation by putting out this publication.
“During the course of the business transaction and at conclusion, Petrocam failed to fulfil its obligations under the service agreement. For instance, Petrocam paid N3 per litre of the allocation as opposed to the agreed sum of N5 per litre. This was the first act of breach displayed by Petrocam Trading.
“Despite our efforts at attempting to get the issue of the outstanding payment resolved while at the same time hoping that business could still be done with Petrocam, the business relationship broke down. While Petrocam thrived in its default of the Service Agreement by failing to make full payment for the petroleum products it loaded, it instituted an action on November 19, 2015 before the Lagos State High Court seeking sundry reliefs including injunctions.”