By Nuel Suji – Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi ( APC Niger North), on Monday took a swipe on the Group Managing Director ( GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation ( NNPC) Baru Maikanti and his predecessors over their recent call for fuel price increase.
Baru and most of the former NNPC GMDs, had last week after strategic meeting on way out for sustenance of availability of Premium Motor Spirit ( PMS) in view of the dwindling value of Naira to the US dollar used by marketers for fuel importation, posited that the current pump price of N145 per liter would have to be increased to avoid acute scarcity.
They argued that allowing the pump price to remain at N145 per liter may lead to crisis in the sector from the fuel importers and resurgence of heavy burden of huge subsidy for the product by government which would invariably cripples the economy further.
But in his reaction to the proposal in his office yesterday at an interactive session with journalists, Senator Sabi Aliyu cautioned the federal government from heeding to such advice at this time Nigerians are groaning under severe economic hardship caused by profligacy of the past, perpetrated by the so called oil experts with previous governments.
He pointed accused the oil Chiefs as enemies of Nigerians and the present government they are giving wrong advice.
He said: “I read the newspaper reports just this morning online and I was disturbed, worried and I think for all intent and purpose very much disappointed with the former NNPC GMDs over their call for fuel price increase , having at one time or the other, contributed to bringing us to where we are today.
‘ The NNPC as an institution was expectedly to be the life wire of this nation. As we have all known refineries that we have in Nigeria have not been functional because if they have been functional and if that institution had being up and doing in tandem with its peers in other countries that have similar resource endowment like ours under the directorship of these former GMDs, we wouldn’t have been in this mess.
“All the problems we are having is as result of what, all these people who have assembled now to be the wise men and to tell us what should be done and as far as I am concerned with due respect am not cut out to insult anybody who’s elderly but this is a matter that’s national and this is something that is in our own national interest.
” I think on this note, let me make it very clear that all of them that are speaking they do not have the moral standpoint to even advise us on what to do because they had a hand in it and I cannot see how you can solve a problem under the same condition that created it. They are more or less , acting as enemies of the people and even the government they are advising.
” I think Albert Einstein is quoted to have said doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is insanity. Are we expecting this people’s advice to change the narratives. As far as I am concerned, maybe they are sent to destroy this government and as far as I am concerned we would not allow them to do that”
According to him,President Muhammadu Buhari and his economic team are doing their best to turn things around for better which he said would surely come to pass if given the needed support by all Nigerians.
“Mr President is grappling with inherited problems. He is trying his best to see that things are changed and I think that within this context whatever we need to do that we need to support him to succeed we have always being ready as we have always done since we came on board to support him”, he added.
