A former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole has blamed the endless fuel scarcity experienced all over the country on the inability of the People Democratic Party (PDP) to fix Nigeria’s refineries during its 16-year rule.
Oshiomhole, a deputy director general of Tinubu-Shettima Campaign Council, stated this during a live appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Wednesday.
“We must ask the question: who destroyed the refineries? What was the condition of the refineries by 1999? From 1999 to 2015, PDP was in power for 16 years. During this 16 years, if they bring out the figure, what they claimed to have spent maintaining these refineries, you will faint.
“And a PDP president decided to privatise the refineries, that was (Olusegun) Obasanjo, towards the tail end of his tenure, another PDP president came and revised the privatisation, promised six months that fuel will be available,” he said.
According to him, one of the major crises then President Goodluck Jonathan faced was dealing with the crisis around Premium Motor Spirit known as petrol.
“So, if you have to talk about the maintenance of the refineries, you will have to trace it to the 16 years of the PDP, they couldn’t fix it,” Oshiomhole said.
He listed the successes of the APC administration led by President Muhammadu Buhari since assumption of office in May 2015 to include the Petroleum Industry Act, and attracting the “right investment” to the sector including the refinery in Lagos owned by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote.
PDP produced Nigeria’s President from 1999 to 2015 when APC’s Buhari won the presidential election to end the second term bid of Jonathan.