Multinationals leaving Nigeria not genuine investors – Uzodinma.

Multinationals leaving Nigeria not genuine investors – Uzodinma.

Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodimma, said Shell, Mobil, Chevron and TotalEnergies are not genuine investors in the Nigerian oil sector.

Uzodimma stated this while appearing on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics.

The governor, during the programme alleged that some people he called cabal were trying to sabotage the efforts of President Bola Tinubu aimed at sanitising the nation’s economy.

When he was asked to state if the cabals were also responsible for the relocation of investors from Nigeria, Uzodimma replied that those leaving Nigeria were not real investors.

According to him, Shell and other oil giants have no regard for environmental laws in Nigeria, asking why they leave the onshore oil business for offshore.

Uzodinma said, “Let’s take the oil and gas industry for instance, is there anywhere in the world you go, and you see any filling station, you want to refill your car and you don’t see Shell, Mobil, Chevron, Total? How many of them are operating filling stations in Nigeria? Why are we isolated, and you call them real investors? Why have they taken to offshore operation, abandoning onshore operation if they are genuine?

“You go to Houston, landing Houston Airport, you see oil locations, you see vegetables planted all over there, habitable for human existence.

“Fly to Warri, as you are landing Warri Airport, look at oil locations. Look at the sea, all the fishes, nothing existent, no fish there. The environment is degraded to criminal level.

“Are they what you call investors, people who have no regard for our environmental laws? Are those investors? People who are into double standard; applying different applications in other countries, applying degrading application in Nigeria. Is that what you call investors? Please if we don’t take our destiny in our hands, we will be doomed for it.”

According to the governor, those leaving Nigeria are not investors but those who are benefiting from the cabal system.

He alleged that the investors were “leaving because they can no longer benefit from foreign exchange disparity. They can no longer benefit from crude oil theft. They can no longer benefit from petroleum subsidy, pretending to be importing fuel when they were not importing anything

“Again, it is a blessing in disguise because the more they leave, the more opportunities the indigenous companies would have to participate. There is no rocket science . No foreign investor, who is comfortable in his country that wants to leave his country and come here.

“And at the same time, the good investors who are Nigerians, who have been denied opportunities to practise and invest, they now have opportunities to do so.

“I think the earlier the artificial and fake investors leave, the better for Nigeria”.

Shell Plc recently “reached an agreement to sell its Nigerian onshore subsidiary, The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited.”

The SPDC is to be sold to Renaissance, a consortium of five companies comprising four exploration and production companies based in Nigeria and an international energy group for $2.4 billion. 

The PUNCH reported in December that no fewer than five multinationals left Nigeria in the last 10 months. 

Credit: PUNCH Newspaper.