The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Nigeria’s last year’s elections, Atiku Abubakar has faulted the decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to take over the sales of crude oil from the Nigeria National Petroleum Company, NNPCL.
Atiku described the move as an illegal one which runs contrary to the laws of the land.
He lamented that the Nigerian Government has not released details of its latest decision to the public.
In a post he made on X which was sighted by Africa Today News, New York, Atiku wrote: “Without prejudice to the possibility of any good that was intended in the decision of the Federal Government to make the @cenbank (CBN) take over the responsibility for crude oil sales proceeds from the @nnpclimited (NNPCL), it must be clearly stated that the action is not legal in its application.
“Although, as usual, of the current administration, little has been communicated to the public about explaining details of the decision.
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“According to what is publicly available, the President has issued a directive that henceforth, the NNPCL would submit receipts for crude oil sales to CBN for vetting and documentation.
“Whatever may be the merit of the new arrangement, the presidential directive is a violation of the legal status of the NNPCL.
“It is an arbitrary order capable of undermining the operational independence of the NNPCL.”
Recall that a fortnight ago, Atiku had submitted that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited should have privatized refineries before rehabilitation to avoid debt.
He said this while reacting to reports that the NNPC had concluded plans to hand over the government refinery to private operators.
In a post on social media, Atiku faulted the approach by NNPC, saying the company must explain to the satisfaction of Nigerians the benefits of its newly discovered approach to privatisation.