|
untitled
Last Updated: Friday, November 12th, 2004 HOME | Previous Page
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Obasanjo asked to separate petroleum ministry from presidency
By Lekan Sanni
Correspondent, Lagos
A chieftain of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), Bashorun Tunde Otedola, has called on President Olusegun Obasanjo
to separate the petroleum ministry from the presidency.
He also asked Obasanjo to tell Nigerians why the nation�s four refineries are not working after presiding over
the petroleum ministry for over five years and after spending more than $1 billion (N135 billion) on their turn
around maintenance (TAM).
Speaking against the backdrop of the planned nationwide strike over the recent increase in the prices of petroleum
products, Otedola said that it is disheartening that the refineries were yet to be reactivated after the huge sums
of money spent on them.
He said that with Obasanjo in charge of the petroleum ministry, the nation ought to get better service, regretting
that instead, Nigerians are being over-burdened with constant upward adjustments in the prices of the product.
The AD stalwart regretted that the nation now has to rely on the international market before determining local
prices of fuel, even as he warned that Nigeria might be in a precarious situation if there is any shortage of petroleum
products at the international market.
According to him, for Nigeria to avoid protest, which may result in the disruption of socio-economic activities,
the president should always listen to the wishes of the people.
Noting that the nation lost close to N50 billion to the four-day warning strike called by the NLC recently, Otedola
said that the federal government should do everything possible to avert the November 16 strike.
He expressed the need for all stakeholders to meet and avert the crisis, even as he warned that future increase
in the prices of fuel would adversely affect all sectors of the economy.
�My appeal to Mr President is that he should have a listening ear since we are under a democratic government and
not in a military dictatorship.�
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright© 2004. All Rights Reserved.
Independent Newspapers Limited
Block5, Plot 7D, Wempco Road, Ogba, P.M.B. 21777, Ikeja, Lagos State, Nigeria.
www.independentng.com
e-mail: [email protected]
Designed By
Powered By DNet.
|
|
