Africa Press-Nigeria:
The Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) has attacked Atiku Abubakar for calling for the establishment of crude oil reservoir in Nigeria.
Atiku, a former Vice President and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last elections, had recently said oil storage depots should be established in Nigeria as done in some developing countries.
But the BMO, in a statement on Thursday, said the advice by Atiku should be rejected.
It said the call was “suspicious, ill-motivated, and untenable,” adding that Atiku “has a background of always putting his pocket and those of his friends first, to the detriment of the well-being of Nigeria and Nigerians.”
The BMO statement was signed by its chairman, Niyi Akinsiju and secretary, Cassidy Madueke.
“Atiku’s antecedents and his open declaration that he would sell 90 per cent of government’s holding in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to his friends with the sole purpose of enriching them, make it expedient that this call be properly scrutinised.
“As an unrepentant person willing to sell the family heirloom to his friends, his advocacy for the establishment of government-owned strategic crude oil storage facilities funded by the government can not be sincere.
“It is misplaced and a mere playing to the gallery because in the countries he cited as a model to learn from, the storage facilities do not belong to the governments of those countries.
“The crude oil storage facilities that hold crude reserves are owned by private sector investors. Instead of trying to con the government to invest in the establishment of crude storage farms, Atiku Abubakar should be sincere and helpful to the friends he planned to sell the NNPC, to invest their own money in developing crude oil storage tanks.
“However Atiku would rather canvass for a non-priority investment by the federal government, ostensibly for him and his friends to later buy off the tank farms as scrap.
