President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday expressed great disappointment with the way Nigeria’s oil industry has been run since he left office as Petroleum Minister and Military Head of State in 1985.
He said those who ruled the country between then and now allowed infrastructure, such as the nation’s refineries, to collapse in order to give their cronies the leeway to steal by importing refined petroleum products.
According to a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the President spoke during a meeting he had with a delegation of the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Those who have ruled the country between 1985 and now are Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (retd.); Chief Ernest Shonekan; late Gen. Sani Abacha; Gen. Abdusalami Abubakar; Chief Olusegun Obasanjo; late President Umar Yar’Adua and former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Buhari blamed these past administrations for the current situation in which Nigeria is forced to spend billions of Naira annually on alleged subsidies for petroleum products.
He said the increase in petroleum subsidy payments over recent years was due to the deliberate neglect of the nation’s refineries, oil pipelines and other related infrastructure to allow the importation of petroleum products and corruption to thrive.
He said he was convinced that if the development of the country’s domestic refining capacity and petroleum products distribution network had kept pace with national demand, there would not have been any need for the huge subsidies currently being paid to importers.
“They (past administrations) allowed the infrastructure to collapse so that their cronies can steal by bringing in refined products from overseas,” Shehu quoted the President as saying.
He therefore urged the chairman and members of the RMAFC, who availed him of their view on petroleum subsidy payments, to go back to the drawing board and come up with more humane proposals to rescue ordinary Nigerians from what he described as the “wicked manipulation” of the country’s oil industry by corrupt operators.
The President also warned that severe sanctions would be visited on any individual or organisation that violates his directive on the payment of all national revenue into the Federation Account.
The President said that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, the Nigerian Ports Authority and other MDAs which previously relied on the laws establishing them to retain all or part of revenues collected by them, did so illegally and must now comply with the Nigerian Constitution by paying all revenues to the Federation Account.
Buhari was also said to have chided the RMAFC for approving what he called “excessive remunerations” for some political office holders.
He therefore urged the delegation to seek a proper interpretation of the commission’s powers and address the public outcry against the unreasonably high payments. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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And you never applauded the immediate past administration for fixing 3 refineries now abi you still wan take the glory of Porthacourt,Warri and Kaduna Referies that are presently functioning ??
ReplyDeleteAre you happy that it took 16 years of PDP government to refurbish 3 refineries? In fact, the refineries started working when Buhari came to power.
DeleteMy shut up....wat kind of rubbish talk is dat...so its pmb dat fixed d 3 refineries ba???rubbish talk..
DeleteIf all the three refineries purportedly fixed by the last administration are up and running, why the upsurge in subsidy payment? Could it be a situation of eating their cake and having it at the same time. Please reflect.
ReplyDeleteBashir, read the comment and digest it before commenting!. The previous government refurbished the refineries and was completed just at a time the present government took over. So credit should be given to the initiator of the refurbishment. Government is a continuum!. Buhari should appreciate any area that his predecessor performed well and attack where he fail. That is the act of good governance. We know it is a style of APC to condemn every action of the rival PDP
DeleteAnd it is not the style of the PDP to condemn every action of the APC abt?? Is that what ur trying to say??
DeleteGMB, you are talking too much. pls. swing to action as Nigerians are eagerly waiting for the dividend/ large development of the Nation.
ReplyDeleteAll talk and no action makes buhari a talkative.
ReplyDelete