The Movement for Anti-Corruption, Integrity, and Transparency Initiative has expressed its disapproval of the recent remarks made by former President Olusegun Obasanjo regarding state-owned refineries.
Obasanjo had stated that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) turned down a $750 million proposal from billionaire entrepreneur Aliko Dangote to oversee the Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries in 2007.
The former president shared this information during an exclusive interview with Channels Television.
Obasanjo stated that the NNPC was aware of its inability to effectively manage the national refineries yet chose to reject Dangote’s proposal.
Furthermore, in a separate statement, Obasanjo characterized an invitation from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to tour the newly refurbished Port Harcourt and Warri Refineries as a sign of disrespect.
This statement followed an earlier report indicating that NNPCL had invited the former president to visit the upgraded facilities after he criticized the state-owned oil company for declining Dangote’s $750 million offer to manage the Port Harcourt Refinery.
Obasanjo Never Wanted State-owned Refineries To Work
In a statement co-signed by its National President, Comrade Goodway Jackson, and Secretary General, Comrade Mohammed Kuda, the initiative asserted that Obasanjo’s recent comments reveal his apparent reluctance to see the state-owned refineries succeed.
The statement said: “To many, former President Obasanjo’s recent outburst on State Refineries may not, after all, be because he means well for the well-being of the nation’s refineries but due to an age-long grudge he holds against NNPCL soon after he left office as president.”
“It is due to the personal vendetta he holds against the State Refineries because after he (Obasanjo) left office, late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua who took over from him, reversed the sale of the Port Harcourt Refinery to a consortium, having seen that its sale was shrouded in controversy.
“Even when the two strong trade unions within the oil industry, the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, vehemently rejected and kicked against the privatisation of the two refineries on the grounds of conflict of interest and lack of due process, a desperate Obasanjo didn’t stop his selfish move.
“Those who are awaiting the privatisation of the refineries in a manner at variance with the national interest should be advised to set up their own refineries like the Dangote Group.”
It was reported earlier that human rights attorney, Femi Falana, SAN, recently articulated the rationale behind former President Umaru Yar’Adua’s decision to annul the sale of the Port Harcourt refinery to a consortium headed by Dangote Oil.
Falana asserted that this reversal was a crucial measure aimed at rectifying the legal and ethical violations associated with the transaction, thereby safeguarding Nigeria’s national interest.
It was further alleged that Obasanjo circumvented certain legal protocols by excluding then-Vice President Atiku Abubakar and personally overseeing the privatization of various state-owned enterprises.
