Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has picked holes in the open invitation extended to him by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPC) to tour the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries.
Speaking through his media aide, Kehinde Akinyemi, he described the invitation “disrespectful”.
According to the media aide, the former president was not formally invited, but rather received an open invitation through the media.
The statement reads: “Is that the right way to invite a former president of the country? Who says Baba has even seen the statement or read the news? It is a total disrespect for the office of the former president.
“Ask the NNPCL that as of January 2, have they written to him? Is there any official letter addressed to him, inviting him to the refinery? It is an absolute insult, and the former president cannot dignify such with a response.”
TRIBUNE ONLINE reports that the controversy began after Obasanjo shared his frustrations about the mismanagement of refineries in Nigeria during an interview on Channels Television.
He recalled how his successor, Musa Yar’Adua, rejected a $750 million offer from Aliko Dangote to manage the Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries.
Obasanjo believes that if a company like Shell rejected his offer to manage the refineries, it’s likely because they knew it wouldn’t work.
In response, NNPC spokesperson Femi Soneye insisted that the refineries are working and invited Obasanjo to see the progress for himself.
However, Obasanjo’s camp considers this invitation an “absolute insult” and refuses to dignify it with a response.
The reopening of the Warri refinery has been met with skepticism from Nigerians, who are questioning the effectiveness of the refineries.
The NNPC claims that the refineries are being overhauled to meet world-class standards, but only time will tell if this is true.
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