FRI 18 MARCH, 2022-theGBJournal| Billionaire entrepreneur and Chairman of Heirs Holdings Tony Elumelu launched furious attack on the state of the Nigeria’s economy Thursday, invariably questioning the country’s leadership on their lack of efforts to alleviate the hardship of the citizens.
‘’How can a country so rich in natural resources have 90% of citizens living in hardship and poverty?,’’ the entrepreneur queried on his Twitter handle after ‘’listening to my colleagues bemoan the very pressing issues that they face every day in this country.’’
Elumelu was particular about the country’s power and energy sectors that have generally underperformed in the past couple of years, noting his views on access to electricity which he says is critical for the country’s development, alleviation of poverty and hardship.
‘’Businesses are suffering. Look at the Bonny Terminal that should be receiving over 200k barrels of crude daily, instead it receives less than 3,000 barrels, leading the operators, Shell, to declare force majeure.
Why are we paying taxes if our security agencies can’t stop this? It is clear that the reason Nigeria is unable to meet its OPEC production quota is not because of low investment but because of theft, pure and simple.’’
Recall that OPEC approved quota for Nigeria is pegged at about 1.8 mb/per day, but the country has struggled to reach the 1 million mb/per day production largely due to vandalization and theft, and security agencies are still grappling with the spate.
‘’Meanwhile, oil producing countries are smiling as their foreign reserves rising. What is Nigeria’s problem? We need to hold our leaders more accountable,’’ Elimelu said.
He also spoke to the 2023 general elections, and suggested that security and resources need to be everyone’s agenda.
‘’Let’s be vocal for our nation’s priority,’’ he urged.
‘’Evil prevails when good people are silent. We need to be vocal about 2023. Let’s focus on Nigeria. Demand and advocate for leaders that deliver. In 2023, Nigeria must be on a strong trajectory for progress and development.’’ He said.
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