ADC cautions against proposed amendments to PIA, sale of NNPCL

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has cautioned against the projected amendments to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and the planned merchantability of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s (NNPC) equity shares.

ADC National Publicity Secretary, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, gave the caution astatine a quality league successful Abuja successful commemoration of the 65th independency day of Nigeria.

He said that ADC believed that income of NNPCL would not beryllium a betterment but a disservice to Nigeria and Nigerians.

He recalled that connected Sept. 22, the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) sent a associated missive to President Bola Tinubu, rejecting the plans.

Abdullahi said that ADC afloat aligned itself with the presumption of the unions, stating that if allowed to proceed, it would not lone undermine Nigeria’s vigor sovereignty, but it would besides magnitude to a brazen transportation of nationalist assets into backstage hands.

He added that the actions would besides dismantle organization checks and balances and pave the mode for the occurrence merchantability of Nigeria’s astir invaluable nationalist assets to private, politically connected interests astatine the disbursal of much than 200 cardinal Nigerians.

“By handing implicit decisive power of these assets to backstage interests, the authorities weakens Nigeria’s quality to stabilise vigor supply, respond to planetary lipid shocks, oregon program semipermanent vigor strategies successful the nationalist interest.

“If we merchantability disconnected our lipid assets, we are not conscionable parting with numbers connected a equilibrium sheet; we are surrendering the lifeblood of our system and the backbone of our nationalist sovereignty.

“It would mean that Nigeria, a state that erstwhile stood arsenic a elephantine of vigor successful Africa, would aftermath up time without power implicit its ain resources.

“It would mean that the revenues which money our schools, hospitals, roads and pensions volition travel into backstage pockets portion our treasury runs dry.

“It would mean NNPC Limited, stripped of its astir profitable holdings, volition stagger nether indebtedness and obligations it tin nary longer meet, risking illness and the nonaccomplishment of thousands of jobs.

“It would mean that our vigor security, our quality to stabilise substance supply, support against planetary shocks and program for the aboriginal volition beryllium handed to a fewer backstage entities whose lone loyalty is to profit, not to the Nigerian people,” helium said.

Abdullahi added that it would service arsenic a unsafe precedent, turning Nigeria’s commonwealth into backstage spot and leaving aboriginal generations of Nigerians with thing but memories of what was erstwhile theirs.

He called connected each stakeholders, including the civilian nine organisations, National Assembly and organised labour unions, to cull the plan.

Abdullahi urged labour unions, peculiarly those successful the captious lipid and state sector, and the younker to talk retired and request afloat transparency and accountability successful the process.

He reaffirmed ADC’s committedness to protecting Nigeria’s commonwealth, resisting corruption successful each its forms and defending the economical rights of aboriginal generations.

While joining each Nigerians, astatine location and abroad, successful reflecting and celebrating however acold Nigerians had travel arsenic a people, helium saluted the Nigerians who person kept religion with the Nigerian dream, adjacent successful the look of challenges.

“Sixty-five years ago, our founding fathers took the bold measurement of reclaiming our destiny, placing successful our hands the solemn work of gathering a prosperous, agreed and self-reliant Nigeria.

“Since then, done civilian war, subject rule, antiauthoritarian transitions, economical booms and downturns, the Nigerian tone has endured.

“That tone – resilient, creative, and unyielding – is what binds america today,” helium said.

He, however, called connected the President Bola Tinubu-led medication to code the economical hardship, insecurity and nonaccomplishment of nationalist religion successful government. (NAN)

The station ADC cautions against projected amendments to PIA, merchantability of NNPCL appeared archetypal connected Vanguard News.