.Wants president to raise oil production to 2.4m bpd, pay down debts, others
CHIGOZIE AMADI
As the current economic situation in Nigeria keeps worsening and defiling government’s policy measures, the Senior Partner at the Olisa Agbakoba Legal, Dr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), has advised President Bola Tinubu to take a cue from former President Olusegun Obasanjo in order to tackle the challenges.
Agbakoba specifically urged Tinubu to urgently maximise Nigeria’s crude oil production to at least 2.4 million barrels per day (bpd), pay down the nation’s mounting debts and apply funds to meet national needs.
The legal silk stated these in a statement he released yesterday, entitled, ‘Maximum Crude Oil Production and Sale Is Our Only Short Term Economic Solution’.
He posited that if this simple fiscal process was sustained, Nigeria would be out of the current desperate situation within six months.
He said the major issue confronting President Tinubu was very simple and easily resolved, adding that the President didn’t have enough money in the treasury to meet the national needs of 200 million Nigerians.
According to Agbakoba, “So there is a simple solution. I urge President Tinubu to look at how President Obasanjo resolved his money headaches. First, President Obasanjo tackled corruption and plugged waste. Nuhu Ribadu saw to that, as the fear of Nuhu was the beginning of wisdom.”
He said the second and most important was that ex-president Obasanjo understood what was called public sector borrowing requirements and how much was needed to sustain the national system.
Agbakoba recalled that most important was Obasanjo’s clear vision of how to raise revenue when he was the nation’s leader.
The senior lawyer stated, “This was from optimal production of crude oil. The revenue from crude oil was fully maximized. Crude oil daily production was at maximum capacity. Funds from sales of crude propped the Naira value to the dollar.
“The Government was able to get things done without borrowing but using crude oil revenue.”
Agbakoba said Tinubu must reverse the trend by maximising crude oil outputs, remove the international oil companies (IOCs) from control of Nigeria’s hydrocarbons revenue.
In addition, he called on Tinubu to pay down the country’s huge debts and hedge the Naira against the dollar with crude oil dollars.
He added, “So quite simply, President Tinubu should maximize crude oil production to at least 2.4 million barrels a day, pay down debts, and apply funds to meet national needs. If this simple fiscal process is sustained, Nigeria will be out of this desperate situation within six months.
“In the final analysis, optimal crude oil production is our way out.”
