Nigeria, March 26 -- The Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, has defended the federal government's handling of the OPL 245 dispute, dismissing criticisms of the deal as misrepresentations of a decades-long legal and commercial process.

He said the agreement could unlock up to 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) from one of Nigeria's most strategic deep water oil assets.

In a statement shared with PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday, Mr Fagbemi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), rejected comments attributed to the Atiku Abubakar Media Office, describing them as misleading accounts of a process spanning years of negotiations, litigation, and international arbitration.

"It is important to note that OPL 245. has long been regarded as on...