Monrovia, Liberia – Liberia’s oil sector is once again mired in controversy, after a former insider of the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL) accused the government of secretly handing four offshore oil blocks to Nigerian tycoon Arthur Eze in what he brands as “broad day stealing.”
Togba Emmanuel, who served at NOCAL more than a decade ago, took to social media with explosive claims that Eze and his company, Oranto Petroleum, have been gifted prime oil assets by the Unity Party (UP) government of President Joseph N. Boakai.
According to Emmanuel, Eze previously pulled off one of Liberia’s worst oil deals in history acquiring three oil blocks for a mere US$200,000 each before reselling them in 2010 for US$250 million. The massive windfall, he alleges, came at the expense of the Liberian people, with the state seeing little benefit.
The former oil official also alleges that Eze bankrolled UP’s campaign and has since provided President Boakai access to his private jet and other favors, in direct violation of Liberia’s code of conduct.
“Giving Oranto/Arthur Eze four offshore oil blocks is broad day stealing,” Emmanuel warned, adding that the deal compromises regulators at NOCAL and the Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority (LPRA).
A Familiar Pattern of Deals
Emmanuel’s revelations strike a nerve in Liberia, where oil dreams have too often been tainted by insider trading, political patronage, and opaque negotiations. Various reports indicate that new offshore agreements have recently been signed, but uncertainty lingers over who actually controls these concessions and under what terms.
The allegations, if true, suggest that Liberia’s petroleum resources remain vulnerable to the same pattern of speculative flipping and sweetheart deals that robbed the country of billions in potential revenue in the past.
Transparency Demands
Civil society actors are already demanding answers. They insist the government publish a full breakdown of bidders, contracts, and beneficiaries of all recent licensing rounds. Anything less, they warn, would fuel suspicions that the Boakai administration is presiding over yet another giveaway of Liberia’s most valuable national assets.
Liberia is at a crossroads: it can either clean up its oil sector and enforce accountability, or risk cementing its reputation as a playground for foreign profiteers and politically connected elites.
As Emmanuel’s allegations ripple across the public sphere, one question dominates: who really owns Liberia’s oil?
