NNPCL has insulted me -Obasanjo

Afenifere, CNPP back former president

Former Nigerian Head of State and civilian president, Olusegun Obasanjo, has slammed the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) for inviting him to inspect the rehabilitated refineries.

He has described the open invitation as “disrespectful” and an “insult”.

Obasanjo’s criticism comes after the NNPCL invited him for a tour of the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, following his comments on the mismanagement of refineries in the country.

The former president expressed frustration over the significant expenditure on refineries since 2007, with no tangible results.

According to Obasanjo, his successor, late President Musa Yar’Adua, rejected a $750 million offer from business magnate Aliko Dangote to manage the Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries.

Obasanjo stated that the NNPCL had wrongly assured Yar’Adua that they could operate the refineries, leading to the rejection of Dangote’s offer.

The NNPCL spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye, claimed that the refineries were working and invited Obasanjo to witness the progress firsthand.

Obasanjo, in a statement issued by his spokesperson, Kehinde Akinyemi, stated that the oil company had not sent a formal invitation to the former president, calling the public invitation “an absolute insult”.

“It is a total disrespect for the office of the former president. 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?” Akinyemi asked.

He further queried: “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.”

Meanwhile, Yoruba sociocultural group, Afenifere, and the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) have backed the former president, condemning the NNPCL’s invitation as “disrespectful” and “public ridicule”.

The groups argued that inviting a former president through newspaper publications was inappropriate and demonstrated the corporation’s prioritization of politics over issues affecting ordinary Nigerians.

The Secretary-General of 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.

The National Secretary of the Coalition of United Political Parties, Chief Peter Ameh, on his part, decried that inviting the former president through newspapers amounted to public ridicule

“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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