Campaign Group Faults Atiku’s Plan To Sell NNPC

The Atiku-Agbaje Media Engagement Network has urged the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, to rescind his proposed policy on the sale of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation if elected.

Recall that Atiku, on Sunday said he would sell 90 per cent of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, and retain just 10 per cent of the company for the Federal Government if elected.

The former vice-president, in his policy document put together with a major delivery timeline from 2019 to 2025, also plans to sell all the four national refineries.

Mr Felix Oboagwina, the Executive Director of the campaign support group, made the call in a statement issued to our correspondent in Lagos on Monday.

According to Oboagwina, the groundswell of opinions so far collated by the group on this matter wants Alhaji Atiku to think outside the box for solutions to the obvious ineptitude and corruption bedeviling the corporation.

“The Late President Umar Yar’Adua had won accolades for reversing the privatisation of the nation’s four refineries; this demonstrates that Nigerians wanted the government’s vigorous involvement in the running of the corporation.

“We urge Atiku to direct his mind towards probing NNPC, recovering looted funds and positioning the corporation for accountability, integrity, professionalism, and profitability if elected,” he said.

Oboagwina also urged Atiku to rather commit to perfecting, signing and implementing the Petroleum Industry Bill within six months of coming into power.

“AAMEN would want Atiku to re-open scandalous NNPC cases like the $25 billion scam alarm raised by the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu.

“It is not always that a drastic solution should be visited on a drastic problem and for anyone to say that selling off the country’s shares in NNPC would be the only solution to the rot in the system simply means that corruption would have won,” he said.

 

(NAN)