NNPC encourages corruption, cut-throat to get oil licence, says Prof Nwosu

An Anambra delegate and former Minister of Health, Prof ABC Nwosu has described the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation as a behemoth with its overwhelming corruption and cut-throat competion or do or die crude oil listing and issuance of oil licences.

Prof Nwosu said that NNPC was a product of the federal government’s ceding to itself in the exclusive list the powers to give out oil licences as well as listing of crude oil from the federal government to the exclusion of the areas where these things were produced.
The Anambra delegate called for devolution of powers saying that the federal government has overburdened itself with too many responsibilities which has held the country hostage for a long time.
Nwosu, who went down memory lane to trace the 1963 republican constitution as containing 45 issues on the exclusive list which increased to 68 in the present constitution, said it has not helped in the development of the country.

He noted that before addressing the issue of state police or any issue contained in the exclusive list, there was need to improve the constitution which cedes the power to police the whole of Nigeria as well as the issue of steel and mining.
He maintained that for the country to stop corruption and do or die system in the oil sector, there was need to devolve powers, calling for a sharp definition of the federating units.
The former Minister also stated that the country’s effort at building the Sovereign Wealth Fund has not yielded the desired result saying that Botwana with only 2million people has more sovereign wealth fund than Nigeria.