Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, senator representing Abia North district at the National Assembly, have moved a motion over shortage of refined PMS (Premium Motor Spirit).
Kalu, in his motion suggested that since Nigeria is one of the largest producers of crude oil in the world, there shouldn’t be any need for shortage of petrol in the country. To this effect, Kalu urged the National Assembly to look into a means of granting the local refineries licences to enable the surplus of PMS.
He recalled in 1999, during his time as a governor of Abia State, he wrote to the then President (Olusegun Obasanjo) to enforce the oil companies in Nigeria, namely, EXXON MOBIL, CHEVERON, TOTAL and AGIP, to establish refineries in Nigeria rather than refining the crude oil outside the country.
According to him, the President didn’t listen. Moving his motion, Senator Kalu said oil thieves, those who refined the products locally, should be given licences, the products and price, to refine, to enable surplus.
He said; “I think that all those people stealing and refining our crude oil, should be recognise and given licenses, they should give them up to one thousand licenses to those boys and give them oil at half price to refine and put an inspectorate department of NNPC to inspect so that we have surpluses with other refineries.
“For example In 1999 when we became governor, I proposed in writing to the then President to force the oil companies, namely, EXXON MOBIL, CHEVERON, TOTAL and AGIP, to build a refinery owned by 80% Nigerian government and then we own 20% and manage it, and after 10 years, the 80% should be offloaded in the Nigerian stock exchange but the then government didn’t listen to it”.
“Even if Dangote refinery opens today in Nigeria, we are still going to have a shortage of our refined petroleum products in Nigeria”, Kalu said.
