Olusegun Ariyo
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has described an open invitation by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, to tour the newly revived Port Harcourt and Warri Refineries as disrespectful.
The spokesperson to Obasanjo, Kehinde Akinyemi, made this known on Friday.
Urban Express News Online reports that the NNPCL Had Invited the ex-president to the revamped facilities after he accused the state-owned oil firm of rejecting Aliko Dangote’s $750 million to manage Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries.
Obasanjo had faulted NNPCL for rejecting Dangote’s offer despite its inability to manage the plant.
However, reacting to NNPCL’s invitation to tour the revived Port Harcourt and Warri Refineries, Obasanjo said the invitation pattern clearly disrespected his office as a former president of Nigeria.
According to him, NNPCL had not deemed it fit to invite him for the said tour formally.
“Is that the right way to invite a former president of the country? Who says Baba has even seen the statement or read the news? It is a total disrespect for the office of the former president.
“Ask the NNPCL that as of January 2, have they written to him. Is there any official letter addressed to him, inviting him to the refinery?
“It is an absolute insult, and the former president cannot dignify such with a response,” Obasanjo’s aide stated.
Meanwhile, the spokesperson of NNPCL, Olufemi Soneye, has not reacted to the latest reply by the former president as of the time of filing this report.