Governor of Imo state, Hope Uzodimma, said Shell, Mobil, Chevron and TotalEnergies are not genuine investors in the Nigerian oil sector.
He also said President Bola Tinubu stopped “cabals and deities” from benefiting from disparities in foreign exchange and fuel subsidy payments.
Uzodimma, who spoke on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, said fuel subsidy and foreign exchange were the passwords for overnight prosperity in the country.
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 operations, abandoning onshore operations 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 at Warri Airport, look at oil locations. Look at the sea, all the fishes, nothing existent, no fish there. The environment is degraded to a 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 applications 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 are 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 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.”
