Chuks Okocha in Abuja
Accord Party Presidential candidate, Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has declared that under an Accord Party administration, Nigerian refineries woul have access to Nigerian crude at a strategic domestic price, giving them the cost advantage to compete aggressively in the sub-regional markets and transform Nigeria into a global energy power.
Olawepo-Hashim has also promised to deliver cheaper petrol to Nigerians.
He made the declaration at the weekend, in Ilorin, Kwara State, during the Diaspora Dialogue, when he spoke on Fuel Subsidy and the Politics of 2027, anchored by Prof. Farooq Kperogi, Prof. Moses Ochonu and Dr. Osmund Agbo.
Olawepo-Hashim spoke against the backdrop of rising petrol prices and growing pressure on global energy markets.
He said Nigeria’s greatest economic mistake has been to treat crude oil primarily as an export commodity instead of using it as the foundation of National Industrial Power.
“Nigeria has spent decades giving the world our crude and buying back the value created from it. Our Energy First policy will reverse that equation.
“Our crude is our strategic advantage. We will put that advantage behind Nigerian industry. Refining and petrochemical industries are a core part of our immediate industrialisation strategy as we aim to be the world most reliable energy source.”
Hashim also added that the Dangote Refinery and other qualifying Nigerian refineries would be able to access Nigerian crude under a strategic domestic pricing framework rather than being treated simply as foreign buyers competing for an internationally-traded commodity.
“If the crude is Nigerian and the refinery is Nigerian, the Nigerian economy must capture the advantage.
“Our refineries will buy Nigerian crude at a strategic local price, not international crude economics so they can produce competitively, expand aggressively and conquer international markets starting first with the African region,” he said.