The governor of Edo state, Godwin Obaseki, has expressed disappointment in Nigeria’s continuous importation despite being the largest crude oil producer in Africa.
Multiple reports Monday said Obaseki stated that importing fuel was a shame, as the country has no reason to do so.
He stated this at the 10-year remembrance service of Chief Jeremiah Ighodalo, father of chairman of Sterling Bank Plc, Dr. Asue Ighodalo.
“The continuous importation of fuel into the nation is a patriotic shame to Nigeria. As one of the largest producers of crude oil in the African continent, Nigeria has no business importing fuel into the country. It’s a shame we are still importing fuel.
“As a nation, we should not be importing fuel at this point in our life. It’s a patriotic shame borrowing from the words of Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Adiche.”
His statement comes at a period the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, said over N6.7 trillion will be spent on petrol subsidy in 2023.
Also, there’s a contention between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and the Nigeria Customs Service (NIS) over the daily importation volume.
Customs Comptroller-General, Col. Hameed Ali (retd.) had said that NNPC can’t scientifically support the 98 million litres/day it claimed to have imported in a year, and only imports 38 million litres of PMS per day.
However, the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, NNPC Limited, Garba Muhammad, defended the oil corporation’s volume record.
