Former Edo state governor and Edo North Senator, Comrade Adams Oshiomole, has asserted that President Bola Tinubu’s elimination of the petrol subsidy put an end to a regime of making “overnight” billionaires in the oil and gas sector.
Oshiomole spoke while commissioning a filling station outlet owned by Itsekiri advocate and chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Chief Ayirimi Emami, in Warri, Friday, January 12.
Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, represented by the State Commissioner for Oil and Gas, Vincent Oyibode and House of Representatives member, Hon. Thomas Ereyitomi were graced the event.
Commissioning the new facility, the legislator emphasized that it symbolized a “show of support for President Bola Tinubu’s implemented policy, effectively putting an end to a system where having a connection in the oil sector could instantly transform someone into a billionaire, solely through favour, connections, and occasionally political bias.”
He said: “Now with the withdrawal of subsidy, you either work, sell and prosper or you don’t and you perish. This is the level playing field President Tinubu has created by the policy.”
Oshiomole, as well as the representative of the Delta state governor, commended Emami for the investment, especially at a time when petrol subsidy had been removed, noting that it would create jobs for people in the area.
Earlier, the duo, led by Chief Emami had toured a tank farm facility of the firm located in Ifie community, Warri South LGA, which Senator Oshiomole posited “a lot of courage and foresight” went into the establishment in such a swampy area.
He enjoined young Nigerians to rather than lament about not been given chances to thrive in the Nigerian economy, to face the challenges by “turning obstacles into opportunities” as there are no longer huge industries to employ thousands of persons.
“Nigerians have never sat down to ask themselves how come the Lebanese, the Indians are coming in droves to find jobs here. Nigerians are not seeing the opportunities in Nigeria. Let’s not cry; go for opportunities,” Oshiomole charged.
In his remarks, Emami assured consumers of getting value for their money, stating thus: “You know the business fluctuates and the market is open, so for us to be in business we would sell at the daily rates. We are going to give the actual price. At A&E, we don’t manipulate our pumps, it’s what you pay for that you get”.
Applauding the petrol subsidy removal, he said it makes the business “competitive,” but he appealed to President Tinubu to tackle the “bottlenecks” in the policy.
Noting that Warri business owners are “suffering” due to impediments at the port, which he said, President Tinubu and Governor Oborevwori are aware of, the APC chieftain reechoed calls for the dredging of the Escravos bar to allow bigger ships passage into Warri port, adding that it would reduce the cost of the product in the state to what is obtainable in Rivers and Lagos states.
Chairman of Warri South, Dr. Michael Tidi, said the establishment of the retail outlet portrays the government of Gov. Oborevwori as ensuring “businesses thrive” across the state.
