Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, on has said he will sell 90 percent of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) once he attains the nation’s number one seat.
The former Nigerian vice president made the statement in an interview with The African Report, a monthly publication.
Atiku, who chaired the National Council on Privatisation during his time as vice president, berated the financial figures generated by NNPC, stating that the company should be making more profit by now.
While responding to a question on whether he would sell the corporation and keep 10 percent shares for the government, the Turaki of Adamawa said, “Yes, I would want to go ahead. There is no doubt about that. The government should have a very minor shareholding. Nigeria is in dire need of funds to develop its infrastructure and other sectors of the economy.”
Atiku added that Nigeria ought to have been producing far more than two million barrels of oil per day.
Speaking further on the privatisation of the nation’s oil company, he said, “Without a stable regulatory framework, the oil and gas companies will find it difficult to invest more in Nigeria.
“At the time, we pushed for the passage of the new law. We expected that Nigeria would be able to export up to four million barrels per day, but here we are, still at less than two million barrels per day.”
