Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Tony Elumelu, has pointed fingers at former President Muhammadu Buhari of truncating his bid to procure an oil field.
He disclosed this in a meeting with the Financial Times, underscoring a contentious decision made by the Buhari administration.
Elumelu asserted that he had been hoping to buy the oil field since 2017 and raised $2.5bn for it, yet Buhari and his late Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, hindered the deal.
He communicated the fact that he was enlightened Nigeria could not allow something of such strategic importance to be handled by a private operator.
“The rejection defied logic,” Elumelu communicated in the interview, stating his disbelief at the administration’s decision.
“We would have been purchasing it from a foreign company, so why was it such an issue?”
Elumelu, who also fills in as the chairman of United Bank for Africa (UBA), underlined that his company’s proposition was not only a deal but rather an expected boost to Nigeria’s economy by retaining valuable resources within the nation.
“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.
On Japa syndrome, Elumelu expressed, “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.”
Elumelu likewise related his struggles with oil theft, which has been a relentless issue tormenting the Nigerian petroleum industry.
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!”
