Atiku: FG’s Planned Divestment of Equity in Oil Sector JVs Disturbing
Atiku: FG’s Planned Divestment of Equity in Oil Sector JVs Disturbing
•Says pervasive hunger, poverty in Nigeria unacceptable
•Presidency to ex-VP: You are out of touch with Nigeria’s progress
•Onanuga: Atiku among those who mismanaged our economy
•You’re practicing voodoo economy, PDP tells APC
Deji Elumoye , Chuks Okocha and Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja
Former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, yesterday kicked against what he termed the planned divestment of significant equity in key Joint Ventures (JVs) within the oil and gas sector, describing it as disconcerting.
Atiku also picked holes in the proposed amendments to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), the law passed in 2021 to reform the oil and gas sector to restructure regulation, governance, fiscal terms and host community benefits in the oil and gas sector.
He stressed that while he has consistently advocated for liberalisation and the revitalisation of underperforming state-owned enterprises, including through privatisation where necessary, it was imperative that such efforts are guided by transparency, national interest, and long-term strategic value.
Although there’s currently no public information that the federal government intends to sell off part of its shares in the key JVs, Atiku, in a press release by his media aide, Paul Ibe, maintained that the moves, if not properly managed, could erode public trust, destabilise the sector, and compromise our energy security.
The federal government holds equity stakes in JV oil operations with international oil companies through the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC). These JVs are structured so that NNPC represents the government’s interest, with shares typically ranging from 55 per cent to 60 per cent in major ventures, while the foreign partners hold the remaining interest and serve as operators.
The arrangement therefore gives the government direct ownership of a substantial portion of Nigeria’s crude oil production.
But in a statement issued by presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, the Presidency did not directly address the portion of the former Vice President’s concern over the said divestment plan, but dismissed Atiku’s revolution prediction.
The Presidency maintained that Atiku was no longer in touch with realistic progress Nigeria has made in the two years and five months that President Bola Tinubu has been in the saddle.
Dismissing Atiku’s position as “grossly misleading”, the Presidency stated that this has proven that the ex-Vice President and his handlers are out of touch with the realities on the ground.
“The Petroleum Industry Act was enacted to bring clarity, accountability, and investor confidence to a sector long plagued by opacity. Any attempt to amend its core provisions must be approached with caution and broad stakeholder engagement.
“The reported plans to reduce the Federation’s stakes in joint ventures such as RAEC (Renaissance) JV, Oando JV, and Seplat Energy JV, especially under terms that appear to disproportionately favour select insiders and foreign entities, risk undermining Nigeria’s sovereignty over its most strategic resources.
“These moves, if not properly managed, could erode public trust, destabilise the sector, and compromise our energy security.
“The federal government must ensure that any privatisation exercise is conducted with full transparency, guided by competitive bidding, and subject to rigorous public scrutiny. The process must reflect our shared commitment to protecting Nigeria’s economic future and ensuring that the benefits of our natural resources are equitably distributed.
“We must resist the temptation to pursue short-term gains at the expense of Nigeria’s national interest and long-term national stability,” Atiku pointed out.
Besides, the former Nigeria’s number two man decried what he described as the increasing spate of hunger currently ravaging the country, especially the underprivileged poor and downtrodden.
The Presidency said: “Talk is cheap. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and his handlers are clearly out of touch with the positive developments currently unfolding in our country”.
For its part, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) also yesterday, berated the All Progressives Congress (APC) led federal government for practising what the opposition party described as voodoo economy without direction.
Atiku, in the statement, noted that whereas the primary objective of any government was the security and welfare of its citizens, the masses of Nigerians are progressively wallowing in misery and poverty under the watch of the Tinubu-led APC administration.
According to Atiku, the current situation does not give cause for cheers as it engenders an increasingly progressive propensity for criminalities in the form of high-wire fraud, terrorism, kidnapping, cultism, drug addiction and ritual sacrifice, among others.
The Waziri Adamawa recalled that the most violent socio-political eruptions and revolutions all over the world had often been powered by pervasive hunger and unbearable material conditions, especially the paradox of squalor amidst plenty in our land.
Counselling that the current unacceptable situation offers an opportunity for reflection, the former Vice President cited the French Revolution, the 1917 Russian Revolution, and the Arab Spring, in which a young man caught in the maelstrom of unbearable frustration set himself ablaze in a development that occasioned violent socio-political eruptions starting out from Tunisia to engulf the Middle-East and North Africa.
“Back home here in Nigeria, it may not be out of place to argue that even the “ENDSARS” protest was fuelled by the traumatising frustration of hunger and insensitivity on the part of the government,” Atiku added.
He also argued that two years after assuming the reins of government, there are still no manifest signs that this government is capable of addressing the grim issue of severe hunger staring the poor in the face.
“Whatever reform the Tinubu government might claim to be undertaking, the point remains that food insecurity is a daily occurrence nationwide. There is no government worth its salt that does not place priority on the welfare and security of the people,” he added.
He stressed further that since reforms are made for citizens and not the other way round, the reforms of the present administration should have a human face.
“Whether the present powers accept it or not, the reality of our existence is that the poor are increasingly dying of hunger while the majority of the living poor exists at the mercy of the ill-advised policies of this government,” he added.
However, in its response to Atiku, the Presidency pointed to fresh National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data showing headline inflation has now declined for five straight months, while the country recorded a trade surplus in August, with non-oil exports nearly matching crude oil at a 48:52 ratio.
It added that Nigeria’s foreign reserves are climbing towards $42 billion, up from $32 billion when President Tinubu took office, despite the clearance of more than $7 billion in arrears, including $800 million owed to airlines.
States, the Presidency stressed, are flush with revenues and able to pay salaries, gratuities and still embark on social and capital projects “on a scale never seen before.”
“After just two years and five months in office, we are proud of the progress being made under President Tinubu’s leadership. Atiku and his allies may choose to ignore these gains, but Nigerians can see and feel the positive changes taking place across the nation,” the Presidency said.
It further accused Atiku of being part of a past government that ran the nation’s economy aground which the Tinubu administration is currently trying to correct.
The Presidency in the release stated, inter alia: “Talk is cheap. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and his handlers are clearly out of touch with the positive developments currently unfolding in our country.
“Their claim that hunger is ravaging Nigeria, and their comparison of our situation to the unrest in France before the 1789 Revolution or the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, is grossly misleading.
“Their latest statement demonstrates a disconnect from the authentic Nigerian reality, as recent data tells a different story. Just today, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released its figures for August, showing that headline inflation has declined for the fifth consecutive month. Over the weekend, the NBS also reported a record trade surplus, with the contribution of non-oil exports to our trade balance now nearly matching that of crude oil at a ratio of 48:52 per cent.
“Our foreign exchange reserves are on the rise, now approaching $42 billion. When President Tinubu assumed office, reserves stood at $32 billion, much of it encumbered. This administration has since cleared over $7 billion in arrears, including $800 million owed to airlines.
“Under President Tinubu, Nigeria is recording unprecedented revenues. States are now able to pay salaries and gratuities promptly and still have surplus funds for capital and social projects—an achievement not previously witnessed at this scale.
“Nigeria is moving in the right direction. In contrast, Atiku and his party remain stuck in the past, fixated on doomsday scenarios and revolutionary rhetoric. Ironically, many of the challenges we face today stem from the economic mismanagement during the PDP years, when Atiku was Vice President. President Tinubu and his team are working relentlessly to correct those errors, with bold reforms.
“After just two years and five months in office, we are proud of the progress being made under President Tinubu’s leadership. Atiku and his allies may choose to ignore these gains, but Nigerians can see and feel the positive changes taking place across the nation”.
Meanwhile, the PDP has berated the federal government for practising “a voodoo economy without direction.” The PDP said if there are no technical glitches in the points of sale (PoS) terminals across the federation, then there ought not be any technical glitches during elections.
The party said the APC’s economic policies are anti- people which takes the welfare of Nigerians for granted.
Addressing a press conference, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Debo Ologunagba, said the primary purpose of any government was to ensure the welfare of the people.
‘’But the reverse is the case with the APC-led government as things continue to get worse by the day. The latest to the anti-people policies is the proposed fuel tax that would further add to the plights of Nigerians,’’ Ologunagba said.
However, he said there was panic within the APC, ‘’because we are in the process of reinventing the PDP with the forthcoming National Convention coming up in Ibadan in November. The APC is panicking.
‘’Tinubu and the APC are panicking, this is why two years to the next general election, he is manipulating his endorsement, there is no need for his endorsements, if he had performed.
“Let his work speak for him. If he has performed, there would be no endorsement. If Tinubu is doing well, he will allow his work to speak for him. The facts speak for itself. The APC economic policies are based on a pyramid of lies. The panic moods of Tinubu’ are signs of a failed government,” Ologunagba argued.
The PDP spokesman added: “You will recall that on the 2nd of September, we inaugurated the national convention organising committee and the next day they went into action with the first inaugural committee meeting.
“I can report here that all our party organs, the statutory organs of the parties, stakeholders, the chapters and all critical stakeholders, we’re all working together towards a seamless and a successful national convention which is scheduled for Ibadan on the 15th and 16th of November 2025.
“At the inaugural meeting of the national convention organising committee, it was decided that there will be several sub-committees as it were to help in the planning and we have about 11 subcommittees ranging from transportation to venue, to electorate to logistics to security and so many other to media and publicity and all of those that will enable us to have a very successful national convention.”
He added: “The rescue and the establishment of true democratic principle can only come into this country via the PDP and so that’s why we’re making sure that every organ of this party, every stakeholder, the chapters, all interests are being accommodated in the process and that’s why we have that large number of sub-committees so we have more people to bring in their views and bring in their own suggestions that at the end we’ll have a solid party ready to take on the APC and then re-establish democracy and re-establish good governance in this country.
“So the outcome of the convention at Ibadan is going to give birth to a very solid party having regards to its character in the past.
“For 16 years Nigerians remember with nostalgia the performance of this party where the country was going progressively towards a positive direction, we were going north, but unfortunately, the APC in the country is going south.”
Speaking on the forthcoming election, Ologunagba called on INEC to build an electronic election process that would have tamper proof.
The post Atiku: FG’s Planned Divestment of Equity in Oil Sector JVs Disturbing appeared first on THISDAYLIVE.
•Says pervasive hunger, poverty in Nigeria unacceptable •Presidency to ex-VP: You are out of touch with Nigeria’s progress •Onanuga: Atiku among those who mismanaged our economy •You’re practicing voodoo economy,
The post Atiku: FG’s Planned Divestment of Equity in Oil Sector JVs Disturbing appeared first on THISDAYLIVE.
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