Atiku’s Proposal To Privatise Oil Sector Is Anti-People – BMO

Former Vice President and PDP Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar

The Buhari Media Organisation has described the recent proposal by the former vice President, Atiku Abubakar to privatise the oil and gas sector, especially the country’s refineries has callous and anti-people.

Atiku, a presidential candidate on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party has said that he would embark on the privatisation exercise if he is elected the president in the 2019 election.

The group, also said it is “rather simplistic for any presidential contender with avowed love of the man of the Nigerian people to join the advocacy for the sell-off of our national assets, especially the ones that must impact the standard of living of the huge population of Nigeria’s poor and struggling middle class”

In a statement signed by its Coordinator Austin Braimoh and the Secretary, Classidy Madueke, in Abuja, the group said it is really amazing that “an eminent Nigerian” in the class of Alhaji Atiku would propose the privatisation of the oil and gas sector inclusive of the refineries, when it is obvious that the privatisation of the refineries directly translates to increased price of petroleum products, especially the widely used Premium Motor Spirit, PMS with dire consequences bon high transport cost aggregating in high inflation rates with massive decline in the standard of living of the people.

“Obviously, Alhaji Atiku’s merely amplifying the long condemned International Monetary Fund (IMF) recommendation for commercial pricing of petroleum products, when in fact, it is established that the products must be socially priced”

The group, also made it known that Nigerians have resisted “and will continue to resist the IMF and any of the Bretton Woods Institution’s intervention in policy reforms of the national economic template in the understanding that these policies are anti-people in orientation and outlook.

“Our position is that any private entity that desires to own and operate companies in the oil and gas sector, especially in the refinery subsector, should go ahead and secure licence and establish their own refineries, Businessman, Aliko Dangote has shown example in this regard with his 650 thousands barrels a day refinery in Lekki, Lagos State

“Thankfully, we are already experiencing a revival in the oil and gas sector under the disciplined superintendent of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. The refineries are recording increased refining capacity while gas supplies to electricity generating companies have increased by more than 100 percent over the last 12 months”