Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has received support from the Yoruba sociopolitical group Afenifere and the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) for his response to the invitation from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to visit the Port Harcourt Refinery and confirm its current state of operation.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
According to Naija News, Obasanjo’s recent interview on Channels Television, in which he cited information from Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) suggesting that the refinery might not operate well, prompted the invitation. Concerns of corruption influencing the refinery’s functioning were apparently voiced by SPDC, which was asked to participate in equity.
Additionally, the former president charged that NNPCL had misled Nigerians about the refinery’s performance. Olufemi Soneye, the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPCL, highlighted the organization’s commitment to accountability and openness in a statement. In an interview with Punch, Obasanjo responded to the offer by calling it a complete insult to his person and office through his media assistant, Kehinde Akinyemi.
According to Obasanjo, as of Thursday, January 2, 2024, he had not received a formal invitation from the oil corporation. In response, Afenifere Secretary-General Sola Ebiseni criticized the NNPCL for inviting Obasanjo through newspaper articles after he correctly pointed out the management flaws that had kept Nigeria’s refineries shut down for years.
Ebieni advised NNPCL to refrain from using rude tactics and called the offer blatantly arrogant. He claimed that former President Obasanjo’s remarks were quite enlightening regarding how the nation’s affairs have been and are being managed. Since his departure from office in 2007, we have witnessed the refineries’ ephemeral performance. Therefore, the NNPCL’s assertion that they invited him to come and see is blatantly disrespectful and conceited.
“Regardless of how you feel about the remarks made by former president and statesman Obasanjo, you should avoid using rude politics if you choose to invite him. You should give him a courteous call to share your thoughts on the matter if you think his remarks do not accurately represent the condition of the plants right now. However, it leaves a lot to be desired to go on the pages of newspapers and portray someone as a liar, as the NNPCL’s action suggests.
Speaking to Punch as well, CUPP National Secretary Peter Ameh claimed that inviting Obasanjo through newspapers was tantamount to open mockery and complete disregard for his record, reputation, and history in the nation. According to Ameh, the NNPCL frequently puts politics ahead of matters that have an impact on Nigerians’ daily life.
“You cannot invite Obasanjo on newspaper pages,” he stated. A person who has served as both a military Head of State and a general in the Nigerian Army, as well as a two-term democratically elected president of the nation, cannot be invited in this way by even the GMD. Our economy has plummeted because the NNPCL has to learn how to handle things properly and refrain from making everything political.
That is merely the NNPCL’s custom of putting politics before of matters that have an impact on the daily lives of regular Nigerians. Obasanjo is just saying that we should have given the plants to private individuals to get them operating at their best through private partnerships if he claims that the refineries are not functioning after we have spent almost $2 billion on them.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
