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Government cancels leases to 16 local firms

    NAIROBI

    The government has cancelled 16 oil-prospecting leases awarded earlier this year by the former military regime of General Abdulsalami Abubukar, news organisations reported an official statement as saying on Tuesday.

    The decision followed an interim report by a panel President Olusegun Obasanjo set up to look into contracts awarded in the last days of Abubakar's regime, Reuters reported the statement as saying. It added that a new procedure for bidding and allocating licences and acreages was being worked out and would be made public soon.

    'The Guardian' newspaper reported that the revoked licences were the first casualties of the drive against corruption launched by Obasanjo in an effort to right some of the perceived wrongs by past administrations.

    Some of the companies are reportedly linked to retiring and serving military officers, Reuters said.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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