Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has slammed the recent invitation the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited extended to him, describing it as disrespectful.
The NNPCL had, through its spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye, invited the former president for a tour of the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries.
The corporation’s invitation followed an interview on Channels Television on Thursday, during which the ex-president recounted failed efforts to privatise oil plants in the country.
Obasanjo expressed frustration over the mismanagement of refineries, noting that despite significant expenditure since 2007, no results had been achieved.
He explained that his successor, Musa Yar’Adua, rejected a $750m offer from the Chairman of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, to manage the Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries.
According to Obasanjo, the NNPCL was aware of its limitations in managing the nation’s refineries but informed Yar’Adua that the corporation could operate them, leading to the rejection of Dangote’s offer.
He said, “When I was president, I wanted to do something about the three refineries we have: Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna. Aliko got a team together after I asked Shell to come and run it for us. And Shell said they wouldn’t. I said, ‘Please come and take equity’, they said no. I said, ‘Okay, don’t take equity, come and run it’, they said no.
“Aliko got a team together and they paid $750m to take part in PPP (Public–Private Partnership) in running the refineries. My successor refunded their money, and I went to my successor; I told him what transpired; he said NNPC said they wanted the refinery and they could run it, and I said, ‘But you know they cannot run it.”
Obasanjo added, “But I was told not too long ago that since that time, more than $2bn had been squandered on the refineries, and they still would not work.”
He stressed that if a company like Shell rejected his offer to manage the refineries based on their reasons, he would believe the company.
The former president expressed confidence in Dangote’s ability to manage his privately owned refinery effectively, contrasting it with the government’s inefficiency.
In response, the NNPCL spokesperson Femi Soneye insisted that the refineries were working.
Soneye explained that the NNPCL had not only carried out turnaround maintenance on the plants but also embarked on a complete overhaul of the refineries to meet world-class standards.
He said, “We extend an open invitation to former President Obasanjo for a tour of the rehabilitated refineries to witness firsthand the progress made under the new NNPC Limited.”
Reacting to the invitation in an interview with Saturday PUNCH, Obasanjo said such an open invitation was disrespectful to his office and person.
The former president, while speaking through his media aide, Kehinde Akinyemi, stated that the oil company had not sent any formal invitation to him as of Thursday, January 2, 2024.
“Is that the right way to invite a former president of the country? Who says Baba has even seen the statement or read the news? It is a total disrespect for the office of the former president.
“Ask the NNPCL that as of January 2, have they written to him? Is there any official letter addressed to him, inviting him to the refinery? It is an absolute insult, and the former president cannot dignify such with a response,” Obasanjo’s aide stated.
Saturday PUNCH called Soneye three times and sent him text and WhatsApp messages to ask if the oil company had indeed officially invited the former president.
However, Soneye did not take his calls or respond to messages from our reporter as of the time of filing this report.
The news of the reopening of the Warri refinery for production had been met with skepticism from Nigerians.
This was after the Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPCL, Mele Kyari, announced that the Port Harcourt refinery had officially commenced crude oil processing on November 26.
However, visits by Saturday PUNCH to the refinery on two occasions showed the contrary.
On Friday, November 29, when our correspondent made his first visit, he discovered there was no activity on site as the loading bay was empty.
Workers at the refinery revealed that the facility was undergoing calibration, which might last until the following week.
After two weeks of inactivity, the Port Harcourt Refining Company reportedly resumed operations, with the NNPCL claiming that no fewer than 11 trucks had started loading from the plant.
During our reporter’s second visit to the plant on Thursday, December 19, 2024, he observed that the lifting of petrol had again stopped.
Saturday PUNCH gathered that the lifting of petrol actually stopped on Friday, December 13, as the 18-arm loading bay of the Port Harcourt refinery was empty.
A truck driver said, “It was Friday last week they loaded last. About 15 trucks or so loaded that day. Since then, not even a single truck has been loaded till now.
Asked if any explanation was given, he replied, “I don’t know. Nobody is giving us any information or telling us anything. Some trucks that were here have left. I’m just here because my director said I should wait a bit.”
Soneye on both occasions declined to respond to phone calls and text messages from Saturday PUNCH.
While the oil company had yet to address growing doubts over the refinery’s operations, Kyari announced on December 31 that the Warri Refining & Petrochemical Company in Delta State had commenced operations.
Afenifere, CUPP back ex-president
Reacting, the Secretary-General of the Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, Chief Sola Ebiseni, said it was disrespectful for the NNPCL to have invited the former president through newspaper publications after he rightly commented on the management deficiencies that had grounded Nigeria’s refineries for years.
“What former President Obasanjo said was quite illuminating about the way the affairs of the country have been or are being handled. He has been out of office since 2007, and until now, what we have seen is the epileptic performance of the refineries. So, it is sheer arrogance and disrespect for the NNPCL to claim they invited him to come and see,” Ebiseni stated.
He added, “If you want to invite a statesman and former president like Obasanjo, no matter how you feel about the statement he made, you shouldn’t resort to disrespectful politics. If you believe that what he said does not reflect the current state of the plants, you should pay him a courtesy visit to present your views about the situation. But to go on the pages of newspapers to paint a picture of a liar—which is what the NNPCL’s action implies—leaves much to be desired,” the Afenifere scribe concluded.
Similarly, the National Secretary of the Coalition of United Political Parties, Chief Peter Ameh, said inviting the former president through newspapers amounted to public ridicule and utter disrespect for his history, reputation, and record in the country.
He said, “You cannot invite Obasanjo on the pages of newspapers. Even the GMD cannot invite another company head in such a manner, not to mention someone who has served both as a General in the Nigerian Army and as a military Head of State, as well as a two-term democratically elected president of the country. The NNPCL must learn how to do things the right way and avoid politicising everything, as this is why our economy has nosedived.
“That is simply the NNPCL’s usual way of prioritising politics over issues that affect the lives of ordinary Nigerians. If Obasanjo says the refineries are not working after we have wasted about $2 billion on them, he is merely stating that we should have handed the plants over to private individuals to get them working optimally through private partnerships.”
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