[2][3] His position had been disputed for the final five months of his life, with a December 2015 attempt to oust him by members of the Hela assembly - posthumously decided in Agiru's favour - still being determined in the National Court at the time of his death.
[8][9][3][10] In his first term, he criticised Ausaid, claiming that they only carried out relief efforts in "provinces where major Australian businesses are" and stated that multinational oil corporation BP had "[treated] my people with contempt" for selling its shares in local oil projects and "would not be allowed back onto the province".
[19] In separate proceedings, in May, he was referred to the public prosecutor and the Leadership Tribunal for failing to furnish annual statements for the period 1984 to 1993 and being in possession of a high-powered firearm.
[21] In November, he was referred to a Leadership Tribunal for the second time over an incident where he was alleged to have held a pistol to the head of another person while playing golf.
[29][30][31] Another attempt to contest the Southern Highlands supplementary election was rejected in April 2003, ruling that his ban until January 2005 would stand.
[39] In May, they settled on an agreement which would result in $AU9.5 billion in payments to landholders over the life of the project for what was labelled at the time as "the largest private investment in Papua New Guinea".
[40] The deal, reportedly to double PNG's gross domestic product, was finalised in December, with Agiru praised in press coverage for his "instrumental" role in "volatile, hostile and occasional violent" negotiations with landowners.
Agiru praised MPs for supporting the bill, stating that it had been a dream for the people of Hela to have their own province since 1974, and that it had finally been achieved.
[52] In his first budget, he supported reinvesting the proceeds of the gas project in developing agriculture in Hela, including the construction of two agribusiness factories in conjunction with an Israeli firm.
[53] In April 2013, he criticised ExxonMobil in the media, claiming that they had not met their obligations in regard to the development of infrastructure promised as part of the gas project, and threatening legal action if they were not addressed within thirty days.
[55] His threat was supported by some landowners' associations, who stated that they were ready to force the project to close if the demands were not met, while Nipa-Kutubu leaders threatened to block the road to the gas field in support and an NGO stated that people were "prepared to take action similar to how Bougainville landowners closed the Panguna Copper mine in 1989".
[67] He returned to Hela Province after a prolonged absence on 23 December, and was supported by national minister James Marape and MP Philip Undialu.
[69] The National Court initially rejected Agiru's challenge to his removal, and Francis Potape was sworn in as governor by the end of December.