Nigeria’s Fire Buhari Over Fuel Importation From Niger Republic

HURIWA said the decision of President Muhammadu Buhari to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Niger Republic for importation of fuel stands condemned.

Recall that the Nigerian Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Silva and his counterpart from Niger Republic, Foumakoye Gado had confirmed Nigeria’s interest to import fuel from the Soraz Refinery in Zinder in Niger Republic.

However, HURIWA faulted Nigeria’s inability to fix its refineries.

A statement by HURIWA’s National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko said the move to import from Niger Republic shows a systemic failure.

HURIWA said: “The failure of the administration to fix Nigeria’s three or four refineries in preference for patronizing Niger Republic is an act of systemic and systematic economic sabotage against the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“If Nigeria has an independent National Assembly headed by independent minded patriotic statesmen and not these executive attack dogs, the central legislature would have probed the unbridled enthusiasm of President Muhammadu Buhari to corner the resources of Nigeria to build Railways in that Country and now the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding to begin the importation of fuel from Niger whilst our publicly owned refineries are left to rot despite huge investments under the guise of doing turn around maintenance.

HURIWA opined that the deliberate failure of the Buhari-led government to, “rapidly and very effectively refurbish the three or four state owned refineries so Nigeria can rely on homemade petroleum products to satisfy domestic requirements is an act of economic sabotage by influential persons in the current administration whose major strategic interests is to economically empower Niger Republic making use of Nigeria’s resources which is the reason for the so called MOU between the petroleum ministry supervised by President Muhammadu Buhari himself and Niger Republic the same Country that is earmarked to benefit from the over $1 billion USD RAILWAY lines from Kano state in North West of Nigeria to Maradi deep inside Niger Republic.”