{"id":29227,"date":"2019-01-16T14:07:38","date_gmt":"2019-01-16T13:07:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/?p=29227"},"modified":"2019-01-16T14:08:01","modified_gmt":"2019-01-16T13:08:01","slug":"atiku-nnpc-is-a-mafia-organisation-ill-privatise-it-even-if-theyll-kill-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/atiku-nnpc-is-a-mafia-organisation-ill-privatise-it-even-if-theyll-kill-me\/","title":{"rendered":"Atiku: NNPC Is A Mafia Organisation\u2026 I\u2019ll Privatise It Even If They\u2019ll Kill Me"},"content":{"rendered":"

Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has described the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) as a \u201cmafia organisation\u201d, vowing to privatise it if elected.<\/p>\n

Speaking in Lagos during an interactive session with the business community on Wednesday, Atiku said he would take the step even if doing so would cost him his life.<\/p>\n

He explained that he sold the idea to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo whom he deputised between 1999 and 2007 but that the former president did not approve of it.<\/p>\n

Atiku said he is convinced that NNPC would run better if not managed by the government.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me go back to my experience. When we got into office, I walked up to my boss and said \u201cSir, there are two mafia organisations in government: one is the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) while the other one is the National Electricity Power Authority (NEPA),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said unless we dismantle these mafia organisations, we cannot make progress. Let\u2019s privatise them\u2026 the long and short of this is that I am committed to privitaisation as I have said. I swear even if they are going to kill me, I will do it (privatise NNPC).\u201d<\/p>\n

Atiku also spoke on how an expert in the petroleum sector influenced his stance on privatisation of NNPC.<\/p>

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Advertisement<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\r\n \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\u201cI asked a Nigerian professor based in America; I said \u2018Prof, do you have ministry of petroleum in America?\u2019 He said no,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said, \u2018Do you have an organisation like NNPC over there?\u2019 He said no. And America produces oil more than any country? He said yes.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I asked him, \u2018How do they do it in America?\u2019 and he said taxation and I decided that I will go by taxation too.\u201d
\nJoined by Peter Obi, his running mate, Atiku fielded questions that ranged from the economy to security, health and unemployment.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also criticised the current administration for the delay in passing the petroleum industry governance bill (PIGB).<\/p>\n

Atiku, who said the level of unemployment in the country is worrying, narrated his encounter with idle youth during his campaign rallies.<\/p>\n

He said if left unchecked the lack of adequate jobs could create a bigger problem.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has described the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) as a \u201cmafia organisation\u201d, vowing to privatise it if elected. Speaking in Lagos during an interactive session with the business community on Wednesday, Atiku said he would take the step even if doing so would cost him …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":19770,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,1593,17],"tags":[2669],"coauthors":[2391],"class_list":["post-29227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-business","category-metro","category-news","tag-atiku-abubakar"],"yoast_head":"\nAtiku: NNPC Is A Mafia Organisation\u2026 I\u2019ll Privatise It Even If They\u2019ll Kill Me - National Wire<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has described the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) as a \u201cmafia\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/atiku-nnpc-is-a-mafia-organisation-ill-privatise-it-even-if-theyll-kill-me\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Atiku: NNPC Is A Mafia Organisation\u2026 I\u2019ll Privatise It Even If They\u2019ll Kill Me - 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