The Conference Of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint responsible leaders from the private sector in the management of the NNPC in order to preserve the nation’s economy.
Willy Ezugwu, the secretary-general, issued a warning regarding the NNPC on Tuesday, September 6, 2022; adding that Nigeria will be unable to maintain the subsidy system, which primarily supports the interests of the people.
CNPP responded to NNPC Limited’s assertions that Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) will cost consumers N462 per litre; particularly without the Federal Government’s subsidy.
Ezugwu bemoaned that Nigeria has never benefited; despite the vast resources available to NNPC as a public corporation and now commercial enterprise. He made this known in a statement released to newsmen. The statement linked the situation to endemic corruption in the oil industry; especially the high-level looting of the treasury through scams like fuel subsidy payments; as well as consistent ineffective turnaround maintenance of outdated Nigerian refineries.
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CNPP said maintenance of the four refineries has remained a perpetual conduit pipe deployed by virtually every management team under successive administrations “to siphon the country’s commonwealth.
“To date, despite several billions of dollars invested in the turnaround maintenance of the Nigerian refineries; none of them has ever worked optimally.
“Rather than pursue the construction of new refineries; the NNPC management will conveniently opt for endless renovation of the old refineries for personal economic gains.”
Ezugwu wondered why the NNPC has continued on the same path of turnaround maintenance projects at moribund refineries rather than building new ones.
The scribe said the only visible reason for the insistence on revamping the old refineries is that it allows “unfettered access to the country’s national treasury for personal corrupt enrichment”.
The statement warned that the nation cannot afford to continue to maintain old refineries; while enduring “the endless looting by NNPC officials in the name of fuel subsidy”,
Nigeria is unarguably the only oil-producing country not benefiting from the current high prices of crude oil in the international market, it noted.
Insisting that private sector chiefs should be appointed to handle the NNPC; the CNPP added that “No sane person does a thing in the same way and expects a different result”.
