Analyst urges halt to Amukpe–Escravos Pipeline stake sale, warns against “giveaway” [+video]

Public affairs analyst Prof. Okey Ikechukwu has called for an immediate halt to the proposed sale of a 40 percent stake in the Amukpe–Escravos Pipeline, warning that the deal risks undervaluing a strategic national asset.

Speaking on Arise News on Tuesday, Ikechukwu questioned the pricing, procedure and transparency of the transaction. He said Nigeria was not in a financial position that justified selling the asset at what he termed a “giveaway price.”

“If that is allowed to happen, it means there is no governance,” he said. “It means that people can exercise arbitrary discretion. It means that processes can be routinely violated.”

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The comment follows renewed controversy over the pipeline’s valuation. Independent assessments in 2025 put the 40 percent stake at between $544 million and $641 million, more than double the $243 million offer linked to a collapsed deal in October 2024.

Ikechukwu argued that reviving the sale on outdated or disputed benchmarks would undermine due process and public confidence. He described the pipeline as a performing asset with reported operational uptime of up to 95 percent.

“If you must sell a performing national asset, it must be sold at the right value,” he said.

He warned that proceeding without an updated valuation could erode investor confidence and damage perceptions of regulatory integrity.

“All processes leading up to the presumed attempt to sell it now should be stopped,” Ikechukwu said. “An independent evaluation should take place so that we know the current value of what is on the table and ensure that the country does not lose money in the process.”