Group faults Obasanjo’s outburst on state of Nigeria’s refineries

An anti-corruption civil society organisation under the aegis of the Movement for Anti-Corruption, Integrity, and Transparency Initiative has faulted the recent outburst by former President Olusegun Obasanjo against Nigerian government-owned refineries as well as the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), stating that both entities need encouragement for the growth of the country’s economy.

In a statement jointly signed by its National President, Comrade Goodway Jackson, and Secretary General, Comrade Mohammed Kuda, and made available to the media on Sunday in Abuja, the group described the outburst by the former President as a distraction.

The group said the former president’s statements were not out of love for the country but due to the reversal of the sales of part of the Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries that were reversed by the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.

It would be recalled that legal luminary, Femi Falana, had also, in a statement he issued on Friday, said the Port Harcourt refinery was sold by Obasanjo to a consortium. However, the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, having found out that the deal was never in the best interest of the country, reversed it.

According to Falana, a 51 per cent stake in the Port Harcourt Refinery was sold for $561 million, and another 51 per cent of Kaduna Refinery was also sold for $160 million on 28 May 2007.

The CSO quoted Femi Falana’s reaction to the former president’s outbursts, where he said: “It is due to the personal vendetta he holds against the state refineries because after he (Obasanjo) left office, the late President 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,” the statement noted.

The anti-corruption civil society organisation described the recent statement by former President Olusegun Obasanjo against state-owned refineries and the NNPC as a distraction, stating that the newly formed Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) should be encouraged to function effectively for the development of the nation.

   READ MORE FROM: NIGERIAN TRIBUNE