Oluwatosin Enesi
The senator, who gave the suggestion on Thursday, said that the move by local crude oil companies to frustrate a Nigerian plant like Dangote is an act of economic sabotage that should be met with the death penalty.
The senator representing Edo North also hinted that the Nigerian Senate is seeking to review the contentious Petroleum Industry Act.
He disclosed this in Abuja at the maiden Prof Emeka Umerah’s public lecture, with the theme, ‘Nigeria Yesterday, Today and a Prosperous Future’.
The media has been awash recently with news on the frustration and difficulties being experienced by Dangote Refinery, one of Africa’s largest oil plants, in securing local crude oil in the country.
Speaking on the development, Oshiomhole said, “So, with all the funfair and celebration of Dangote Refinery that, for once, we now have a Nigerian who has initiated and built one of the world’s biggest refineries, Nigeria’s crude oil is still being exported while Dangote is denied some allocations. They prefer to import it to Europe and leave Dangote to import its crude from America into Nigeria.
“Those guys deserve to be hanged. If we don’t hang them, they will hang all of us. What it takes to hang them will require a president with extraordinary courage. They are importing diesel even at a time when the CBN is saying there is too much pressure on our imports. President Tinubu celebrated the achievement (refinery) because it was his dream to create a free trade zone in that part of Lagos, which Dangote now took advantage of to locate his factory. What he saw as a governor between 1999 and 2007 was what they built.
“Just yesterday (Wednesday), we had a debate and passed a resolution on the floor of the Senate. You can’t have a sovereign company under a sovereign nation that is not accountable to the people. No, you cannot be bigger than the president. If we can interrogate our president and harass him on television, who the hell is that appointee who is above the law? So, they are importing these things so that Dangote Refinery will eventually not prosper.“
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