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Atiku Condemns NNPCL for $6 Billion Debt and Fuel Scarcity Crisis
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has strongly criticized the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) following the company’s recent admission of a substantial debt totaling $6 billion owed to petrol suppliers.
This disclosure, made public on September 1, has intensified the ongoing fuel scarcity crisis, which has now been affecting the country for six weeks.
NNPCL’s Chief Communications Officer, Mr. Olufemi Soneye, confirmed the debt, highlighting the severe financial strain it has imposed on the company’s operations.
Soneye acknowledged that the debt poses a significant challenge to the company’s ability to maintain a steady fuel supply.
Despite these difficulties, Soneye reassured the public that NNPCL remains dedicated to fulfilling its role as the supplier of last resort, as required by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
The company is actively working with government agencies to ensure that petroleum products remain available across the nation.
In response to the situation, Atiku Abubakar expressed his deep concern through a statement released by his media aide, Phrank Shaibu.
He criticized the NNPCL’s handling of the situation, questioning the credibility of the profits that had previously been touted by the company.
Atiku accused the current administration under President Bola Tinubu of leading NNPCL towards a state of disarray, characterizing their actions as a “ruthless dismantling of its assets” and expressing skepticism about the transparency and effectiveness of their management.
TV anchor Rufai Oseni makes headlines as he speaks on fuel subsidy in Nigeria. He shared that Nigeria can have fuel subsidy without the long queues at filling stations.
“When we were still paying subsidies, there were no long queues. We were subsidising. So you can still have a subsidy regime going on, and there will be no long queues because production was close by. Dangote had it. That’s just it. That argument also falls flat.
“The biggest beneficiaries of subsidy are not Nigerians. They are crony capitalists that have big infrastructure, and they do contracts. They have been the biggest beneficiaries of the subsidy,” he said.
Lagos State Governor, Sanwo-Olu, speaks to those in the electricity sector about the usual blackouts in the state.
He speaks on ways things can change in the state and how electricity can be provided.
“We need to drop corporate egos, abandon long-standing excuses, and confront the harsh realities obstructing progress in the power sector.”
“We, state governments, used to give excuses that everything is centralised, so the Federal Government has unbundled it now. What have we done in a year and a half?” Sanwo-Olu asked.
“We take two steps forward, we go five steps backward,” he said.
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has declared Thursday, August 20, a work-free day for public servants in the state to mark the Isese Festival.
Speaking on the celebration, he said “Ìṣẹ̀ṣe is not a relic. It is a living expression of our traditions and a celebration of Yoruba spirituality as an important part of Nigeria’s cultural and religious landscape,” he said.
He added “When the drums sound in Lagos on Thursday, they answer drums in Havana, in Salvador, in Port of Spain. Fifty-five million people and counting. Lagos is not observing a local holiday. Lagos is standing at the centre of a global heritage,” Aregbe said.
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