Former Governor of Edo State, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, on Thursday recommended death penalty for economic saboteurs attempting to frustrate Dangote Refinery and push Nigerians into further hardship.
The senator representing Edo North has also hinted that the Nigerian Senate is seeking to review the contentious Petroleum Industry Act.
He featured as a guest speaker at Thursday’s maiden edition of Prof Emeka Umerah’s public lecture in Abuja.
The senator said the act of frustrating a Nigerian plant like Dangote by local crude companies is an act of economic sabotage that should be met with the death penalty.
He said, “So, with all the funfair and celebration of Dangote Refinery that, for once, we now have a Nigerian who has initiated and built one of the world’s biggest refineries, Nigeria’s crude oil is still being exported while Dangote is denied some allocations. They prefer to import it to Europe and leave Dangote to import its crude from America into Nigeria.
“Those guys deserve to be hanged. If we don’t hang them, they will hang all of us. What it takes to hang them will require a president with extraordinary courage. They are importing diesel even at a time when the CBN is saying there is too much pressure on our imports.
“President Tinubu celebrated the achievement (refinery) because it was his dream to create a free trade zone in that part of Lagos, which Dangote now took advantage of to locate his factory. What he saw as a governor between 1999 and 2007 was what they built.
“It is the product of his work that Dangote Refinery now located in Lagos can satisfy the Nigerian market. Yet, some Nigerians who joined us in lamenting (the fuel hike) are the ones importing low-quality diesel prohibited in Europe. They are bringing in diesel that will pollute our environment, destroy our engines, and use our scarce foreign exchange to pay for it. Meanwhile, Dangote Refinery in Lagos is in a position to produce diesel and even announced a reduction of the price.
“Can you believe Nigeria produces the oil that multinationals refuse to sell to Dangote? And we have a government that is even appealing and urging them that you must sell. Excuse me, we have a lot to do. We need a balance of some madness and ruthlessness.”
