Former Vice President of Nigeria and Presidential Candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar has finally given out a convincing reason why he will privatise the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
The PDP’s presidential candidate made this known while speaking with leaders of the creative industry & members of the business community in Lagos today. Atiku also described NNPC as a mafia organisation.
While speaking today in Lagos, Atiku Gives Cogent Reasons Why NNPC Needs to be Privatise.
“Let me go back to my experience. When we got into office, I walked up to my boss and said “Sir, there are two mafia organisations in government: one is the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) while the other one is the National Electricity Power Authority (NEPA).
“I said unless we dismantle these mafia organisations, we cannot make progress. Let’s privatize them… the long and short of this is that I am committed to privatisation as I have said. I swear even if they are going to kill me, I will do it (privatise NNPC).
“I asked a Nigerian professor based in America; I said ‘Prof, do you have ministry of petroleum in America?’ He said no.
“I said, ‘Do you have an organisation like NNPC over there?’ He said no. And America produces oil more than any country? He said yes.
“So I asked him, ‘How do they do it in America?’ and he said taxation and I decided that I will go by taxation too,” he added.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was established on April 1, 1977, and is owned by the Nigerian government.