I Will Name, Shame Oil Thieves, Atiku Vows

There will no longer be a hiding place for oil thieves and their accomplices, no matter how highly placed in the country if the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) takes power next year, Atiku Abubakar has vowed.

This was the pledge of the PDP presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, when he interacted with a broad spectrum of corporate Nigeria under the aegis of Business Dialogue Stakeholders Forum at Eko hotel in Lagos, on Saturday.

Doyens of industry at the session were Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Jim Ovia, Tony Elumelu, Herbert Wigwe, Muhammad Hayatudeen, among others.

Atiku also said he would, in the interest of national development, confiscate all oil bloc allocated to some Nigerians who have failed to make them operational.

The former Vice President, who promised to sustain frequent interactive sessions between government and the country’s’ business class when voted to power, equally outlined the ways he would tackle what he described as an ailing economy.

“If you are not going to develop oil blocs given to you, we will take it away and give it to those who will develop it. We will also assemble the names of those involved in oil theft, publish same and prosecute them,” Atiku told the stakeholders.

Besides his vow to shame oil thieves, Atiku recalled that under the administration of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo the quota of oil production was earmarked for increase to four million barrels per day.

That plan, he explained, would be resuscitated and sustained beyond the projected figure, when he is voted into office next year, pointing out that in order to do this successfully, the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and any other enabling law would be invoked.

“When we were in government, we started this process. However, there were hiccups. We were unable to pass the legislation to encourage IOCs to partake in the sector. We will go back to where we started,” he said.

He added that the Brass and Olokola LNG projects, started under the Obasanjo administration will be given more attention under him.

“We will continue if we have the opportunity. As you know, joint ventures are good because they are investor-driven,” he said.

He reiterated his commitment to privatizing the refineries in Kaduna, Port Harcourt and Warri, saying: “I swear to God, I’ll privatize them.”

Turning to fiscal challenges of FOREX, monetary policy and the N20 trillion way and means balance facing the country, Atiku said, “I believe that we should have a FOREX policy that allows a convergence. I don’t believe in a multiple FOREX policy that currently applies.”

“Dollarization or otherwise of the Nigerian economy depends on the strength or weakness of our economy. If we strengthen our economy, you don’t need the dollar. The naira can be strengthened by the number of jobs created and exports.”

Source: Daily Trust

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