Lagos State governorship candidate of BOOT Party (BP) in the 2023 elections, Mr. Wale Oluwo, has faulted the transmutation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to a Limited Liability Company through the instrumentality of the PIA 2021 by the federal government, saying such move was detrimental to the advancement of the Corporation and cannot yield the desired result.
Oluwo said the Federal Government should have allowed the Corporation to be run as a limited liability company and stop making revenue available to it, just as he said it would be difficult to expect the Corporation to meet the target set for it to turn in revenue or declare profit soon.
He maintained that it would take an average of 12 or 17 months of commercial operations before the corporation can declare profit, and what it will turn in would be a dividend of what is invested in it and not revenue, just as he faulted a situation whereby NNPC gets money in Dollars and remit dividends in Naira.
Speaking at the commissioning of his campaign office in Anthony, Lagos State, Oluwo said NNPC conversion was done in good faith but said what happens after the conversion is the unintended consequences.
He maintained that state governors should tell the president that Nigeria cannot profit from such an arrangement, adding that such move do not in anyway offend the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021.
He explained that since NNPC has stopped selling oil, then federal government should take the revenue from those selling the oil.
Oluwo, who was a Commissioner for Energy in Lagos State, said: “If the NNPC issue is not resolved it will increase the exchange rate, because dollar proceeds that NNPC gets is what the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN uses to shore up exchange rate in its kitty, and the Dollar won’t be available again.”
Oluwo maintained that NNPC has no business acquiring the downstream sector and instead of giving all the money for petroleum to NNPC, crude oil money should go to the federation account.
He, therefore, urged shareholders of NNPC to contribute money to it in form of capital, and federal government should stop making revenue of the country available to NNPC to operate.
“The capital given to NNPC is the amount it can take risk on. You can’t give the entire revenue of the nation to it, to go and be risking it, it is not sustainable.
“NNPC is now a limited liability company,it should go to capital market to look for money to operate.
“It should not use Federal Government guarantee to take loan,the president,governors and other stakeholders need to resolve this,” Oluwo added.
Oluwo, during the inauguration of his campaign, said BOOT Party would have Solutions Series, a weekly media event to proffer solutions to the challenges confronting Lagos State and Nigeria.
Present at the party campaign inauguration were the deputy governorship candidate, Mr. Rotimi Balogun; the BP National Chairman, Mr. Sunday Adenuga; Chairman, Lagos chapter of Afenifere, Otunba Tunde Onakoya; DG, Wale Oluwo Campaign Organization, Mr. Lanre Anjolaiya, among others.
Speaking on his mission to rule Lagos State, he said he wanted to become next governor of the state come 2023 in order to return the wealth of Lagos back to the people of Lagos, the true owners even as he added that he would involve youths in governance, to prepare them for fast leadership transition.
Shedding more light on his mission, he aid he was interested in the governorship seat to restore the sovereign power of the people, noting that the powers provided the governor by the 1999 Constitution had not been there anymore for a long time.
Oluwo also pledged to re- stablish status of Lagos as reference point for free democratic practice, implement reforms in critical sectors for ross Domestic Growth, revenues and jobs, as well as intensify industrialization drive, leveraging on energy and infrastructure, to reposition Lagos as an investment destination that was globally competitive, among others.
According to him, the government headed by him will be an effective- minded administration that will emphasize on security, energy, concerning electricity, petroleum products, gas renewables.
On transportation, he promised to ensure efficient movement of Goods, People and Services (GPS).
The BP governorship candidate, who expressed his commitment to health and education, agriculture, justice reform, human rights and public order, further said his administration would accelerate passage and domestication of the Freedom of Information Bill in Lagos and support Local Government autonomy.
“I am committed to serve Lagos. I am committed to life more abundant. My commitment to life more abundant has been there for the past 50 years.
“I reconfirm my commitment to creating a better and smarter Lagos State, that is liveable, just because of our tomorrow,” he said.
National Chairman of the party, Adenuga, in his speech noted that the party was young having been registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in 2019, but BP was poised to work for brighter future for Nigerians, even as he acknowledged the leadership qualities in Oluwo, the governorship candidate of the party, whom he said is committed man that worth being emulated.
Director- General of the Campaign, Lanre Anjolaiya, said the inauguration of the campaign was the beginning of the struggle to liberate the state from the political class that had held the state by the jugular.
He said the party represented new ideas, new opportunities, new innovation, adding: “Our campaign will be unconventional and it will be issue-based.”
