Mr. Adesina categorically stated to SaharaTV that “it is within the President’s right to fire the board members of NNPC. That is just the beginning of the house cleansing he wants to do to clear the rot in the oil sector.” However, he did not provide any specific details or actions that President Buhari would take, including whether Buhari would personally lead the Oil Ministry as some rumors suggest.
Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser for Media and Publicity to President Buhari, spoke with SaharaTV about the first thirty days of Buhari’s administration and the future of the oil sector under President Buhari.
Mr. Adesina categorically stated to SaharaTV that “it is within the President’s right to fire the board members of NNPC. That is just the beginning of the house cleansing he wants to do to clear the rot in the oil sector.” However, he did not provide any specific details or actions that President Buhari would take, including whether Buhari would personally lead the Oil Ministry as some rumors suggest.
He urged the public to understand that “Nigerians gave President Buhari a mandate to rule for four years, so they should not complain in less than thirty days.” Mr. Adesina then added that President Buhari is not “a miracle worker.”
When questioned about the transparency of President Buhari’s administration, Mr. Adesina said that Buhari “has taken the first step [to fixing the oil sector]. When you take a first step, you take others. Since that step wasn’t taken in secrecy, others will not be taken in secrecy.”
Mr. Adesina also addressed reports from earlier this week that the Presidency would sell off some planes in the presidential fleet. He confirmed that no planes had been sold yet, but that “one thing we can be sure of is when those planes are sold, if they are being sold, it’s not going to be something that is done under the table or in secrecy. Everyone will know. If he has a plan to do it, it will be announced that he is going to do it.”
Earlier this week it was announced that President Buhari, accompanied by Mr. Adesina, would be travelling to the United States to meet with President Obama and other top American officials. There is information available yet who else will be accompanying the President to those meetings.