The House of Representatives plans to summon former President Goodluck Jonathan to explain his role in the controversial award of OPL 245 oil block licence.

Razak Atunwa, Chairman of the House Committee on Justice who leads an ad-hoc panel investigating the $1.3 billion Malabu oil deal, said efforts have commenced towards summoning the former president to testify.

The money was paid by oil giants, Shell and ENI, for the oil block, one of the richest in Africa. About $1.1 billion of the money was paid directly into a Nigerian government account with JP Morgan while about $200 million had been paid by Shell as signature bonus.

Most of the $1.1 billion ended up in private accounts with about $801million directly going into the account of Dan Etete, a former petroleum minister who was convicted for money laundering in France. A large part of that sum is believed to have gone to Mr. Jonathan and officials that served under him including Mohammed Adoke, the then attorney general.

Mr. Jonathan’s spokesperson, Ikechukwu Eze, could not be reached for comments about the lawmakers’ moves on Monday afternoon. But he exonerated the former president in a January 10 statement about the Malabu oil deal.

“We wish to make it clear that former President Jonathan was not accused, indicted or charged for corruptly collecting any monies as kickbacks or bribes from ENI by the Italian authorities or any other law enforcement body the world over,” the statement said.

While Mr. Jonathan and officials that served under him continue to deny any wrongdoing, Shell, the global oil firm that desperately wanted control of the OPL 245, on Monday admitted it knew the $1.1 billion it paid alongside ENI for the block would be used as kickback for an ex-convict and former petroleum minister, Dan Etete.