PRESIDENTIAL candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar, has said the new Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Ltd launched by President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday was different from what he envisaged in 2015.
Reacting to the unveiling of the new NNPC by President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday, Atiku claimed the All Progressives Congress (APC) government bought into his plan to privatise the company.
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While lauding the government’s transition process for the commercialisation of the organisation, Atiku said he would turn the NNPC into a world-class company in the mould of the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), Aramco of Saudi Arabia, and Petrobras of Brazil, where Nigerians and institutions would invest in, if elected President in 2023.
In a post on his verified Facebook page on Tuesday, the former vice president noted that the governing APC denigrated him for declaring his intention to privatise the NNPC while campaigning for the 2019 presidential election.
Atiku was the PDP presidential flagbearer in the 2019 presidential election. He lost to the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari, who rounds off his second tenure in May next year.
He revealed his plans for the national petroleum corporation after Buhari launched the new NNPC Ltd, removing the company from government control and funding, and kick-starting its journey towards becoming a full-fledged private entity.
Atiku said, “I had in 2018 made public my plans to reform the NNPC to make it more profitable, transparent and efficient. The APC-led government denigrated me for my patriotic vision.
“But today, I am happy to note that the same government has taken a tentative step along the lines of the suggestions that I had made. It is a step in the right direction, but we are still far from what I had envisaged.
“I hope I’ll have the opportunity to complete the process of turning the NNPC into a genuinely world-class company in the mould of NLNG, Aramco of Saudi Arabia and Petrobras of Brazil, where Nigerians and institutions will invest in.”
Atiku had faced a backlash after he announced his plan to privatise the NNPC, Nigeria’s highest income-generating entity.
The NNPC has been described as one of the biggest conduit pipes for looting state funds by successive Nigerian governments and other public office holders.
President Buhari signed the Petroleum Industry Bill into law in 2021, birthing the commercialization of the NNPC.
Marcus bears the light, and he beams it everywhere. He's a good governance and decent society advocate. He's The ICIR Reporter of the Year 2022 and has been the organisation's News Editor since September 2023. Contact him via email @ [email protected]