Prominent businessman, Tony Elemelu, has accused former President Muhammadu Buhari of blocking his bid to acquire an oil field.
Elumelu who has investments in various sector of the economy explained that his company, Heirs Holdings, had been looking to purchase a 45 per cent stake in an oilfield since 2017 when international oil companies such as Shell, Total and Eni were selling off their shallow water assets i and raised $2.5bn for this, but Buhari and his late Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, blocked the deal.
Elumelu told Financial Times, that the duo did so as they believed Nigeria could not allow something of such strategic importance to fall into the hands of a private operator.
“We wanted to become a Fortune 500 company and we estimated what we needed. It’s not naira, it’s huge dollars. Energy security is crucial for a country that doesn’t produce enough electricity for its roughly 200 million citizens,” he added.
Speaking on the Japa syndrome, Elumelu declared, “I support it, totally. “I don’t have a problem with people saying ‘I’m going to Canada, UK or US.’
“Joblessness is the betrayal of a generation. You’ve gone to school and come back with your dreams and aspirations and you don’t have the opportunity . For people who decide to find solutions elsewhere, no one should stop them. But for those who decide to stay, they should try to create an impact and build a legacy.”
Recall that in 2022, when Elumelu was forced to shut down production, he took to social media, tweeting: “How can we be losing over 95 per cent of oil production to thieves? Look at the Bonny Terminal which should be receiving over 200,000 barrels of crude oil daily, instead, it receives less than 3,000 barrels, leading the operator Shell to declare force majeure.
He said, “The reason Nigeria is unable to meet its OPEC production quota is not because of low investment but because of theft, pure and simple! Meanwhile, oil-producing countries are smiling as their foreign reserves are rising. What is Nigeria’s problem? We need to hold our leaders more accountable!”
