Following the fuel price hike, which has crippled socio-economic activities across the country, a lecturer from the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, Aminu Makama has called on President Bola Tinubu to step down from the position of senior petroleum minister.
The don insisted that, “There is no place in the world where the president is the petroleum minister except Nigeria.
According to him, “This is why it is difficult to hold whoever is in charge accountable.”
Speaking in the same vein, an oil sector analyst also based in Bauchi State Comrade Sabo Muhammad has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to suspend the management of Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited and carry out a thorough investigation into the company’s affairs.
Sabo, in an exclusive interview on Saturday, said that there is a need for the Federal Government to take a thorough forensic audit of the NNPCL account.
While acknowledging that he was not the first Nigerian to suggest the forensic audit of NNPCL, Sabo reminded that several critical stakeholders in the energy sector have been agitating for a similar investigation.
According to him, “That has not been done under the former President Muhammadu Buhari, and I think the present administration under president Bola Ahmed Tinubu should take the bull by the horn and ensure that we have a clean account in NNPCL, because of allegations of financial misappropriation, lack of proper accountability and management deficiency.”
The analyst added, “The NNPCL under Mele Kyari has been promising Nigerians that fuel storage and other uncertainty will come to an end, but the situation has not improved. So it is in that light that some of us as patriotic Nigerians who are very desirous of effective services and efficiency are calling on the president to go the extra mile to suspend the management of NNPCL so that we can have new crops of people with new ideas and vision so that they can be able to take us to the next level.”
Sabo, who insisted that the appointment of a new management in the NNPCL is the solution to the lingering issues in the energy sector, further underscored the outcry of the common Nigerians from all angles.
He pointed out that “Things have not been normal; everything is stagnant, and there are severious suspicions and concerns about the management of the NNPCL.
“As a patriotic Nigerian, I also join the league of those calling for a thorough investigation. And that can only be done when the company’s present management is actually suspended and interim managers are appointed to steer the affairs of the company.”
Sabo further carpeted the insensitivity of the oil company over the increase of fuel prices amidst the enduring economic hardship Nigerians are currently battling with, saying, “It is highly insensitive, irresponsible, and I think this has also created an avenue for oppositions to mock the present administration.
“Nigerians have been pushed to the wall, and the glowing inflation caused by the hike in the price of PMS, the federal government should have a rethink and intervene.”
He maintained that for the government to claim that it was only driving the economy based on the demand and supply rule to take effect in the oil sector is not sensitive in the current situation.
“Nigeria is one of the countries blessed with these mineral resources, and Nigerians need to enjoy this natural endowment. The government and its policymakers should not be making comparative analysis with the developed economy where there are very strong institutions, zero tolerance to corruption, transparency in government, which are all lacking in the developing economy like Nigeria,” he stated.
Continuing, he maintained that the president, as an experienced businessman and politician, must act very fast or face the consequences of the unbearable policies in the 2027 general election.
Sabo also lamented the decision of the government to make the NNPCL the sole buyer of Dangote refined petrol, saying, “It is not in the best interest of liberal economy, when there are other competitors who are willing and ready to buy and sell the fuel in the domestic market.
“That is what I see, and I believe it is the same to many people who are curious about the development in the NNPCL.”
He insisted that “By the time the NNPCL corners and hijacks the refined petroleum as a sole buyer of Dangote refined petrol, it means they have the monopoly, and going back a bit, it was the same NNPCL accusing Dangote for monopoly.
“I think it is not in tandem with the policy of the economy they are talking about to create an enabling environment and allow other competitors to set into the business.”
He stressed that the NNPCL’s monopoly as the sole buyer of Dangote refined fuel will not be favourable to the country and Nigerians.
The oil sector analyst equally emphasised that the government policies will affect the fortunes of the All Progressives Congress, in the next cycle of elections.
Meanwhile, Makama pointed out that the current management of the NNPCL has overstayed its welcome.
He said, “When we consider certain decisions that are taken recently, we can say they don’t even understand what is happening in the country.
“Because there is no way a new minimum wage is approved and it has not been implemented and NNPCL went ahead to increase the fuel price at a time when people are suffering, insecurity has stopped people from going to their farm.”
He lamented that a recent comment by the NNPCL even suggested that the price would keep on increasing.
“They are saying that even the N885 per liter is not sustainable that at the end of the day, people should expect more of this increase,” he stated.
Commenting on the development concerning the Dangote refinery and the NNPCL, Makama said, “You understand that the management is up to something. While the minister and president are saying they are doing everything possible to ensure there is fuel supply in the country which can at least reduce the price of the product, the NNPCL creates an artificial increase of the pulm price.”
He also called on the president to step down from the position of senior petroleum minister, saying, “There is no place in the world where the president is the petroleum minister except Nigeria.
“This is why it is difficult to hold whoever is in charge accountable.”
He said that since the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, there have not been investigations in NNPCL that see the light of the day, noting that that is why the company is becoming more complicated.
