Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has lambasted the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) over what he described as a disrespectful manner he was invited to tour the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries.
Reacting to the invitation through his media aide, Kehinde Akinyemi, Obasanjo said such an open invitation was disrespectful to a former president’s office and standing.
Recall that the national oil company recently issued a press statement, inviting Obasanjo to tour the two refineries after he questioned their operability in an interview during the week.
Speaking with Channels Television, the former President recounted failed efforts to privatise oil plants during his term.
He disclosed that Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) told him that the Port Harcourt plant could no longer function optimally, countering NNPC’s claim of a revamp and re-restreaming of the facility.
He further alleged that the NNPCL had been misleading Nigerians about the facility’s functionality.
In response, the oil firm extended “an open invitation to President Obasanjo for a tour of the rehabilitated refineries to witness firsthand the progress made under the new NNPC Limited,” NNPCL’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye said.
Obasanjo blasts NNPC
But, Akinyemi contested that the national oil company had not sent any formal invitation to the former President as of January 2, 2025.
“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,” Obasanjo’s aide stated.
