‘Buhari must relinquish petroleum ministry to succeed’

A Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Muhammad Ibrahim Daura, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to let go the office of petroleum minister and concentrate on his duty as president.

Daura who made the call at a press briefing in Kaduna, said the office of the president was very demanding and needed full concentration.

He said President Buhari should re-contest in 2019, saying he (Buhari) had started some good works and needed to be given more time to complete them.

Daura said the petroleum ministry was a sensitive ministry that needed to be handled by a professional.

He said President Buhari had, since assumption of office, not toured all the refineries in the country to see how they were in order to map out a new policy that would rejuvenate them.

“It is also sad that the Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu, is a lawyer by training and may not have the rudiments to manage the affairs of the ministry.

“We all know that 80 per cent of our revenue comes from the petroleum sector, and if we don’t take proper care of the ministry, the country may be thrown into chaos,” he said.

Daura added that the recent fuel scarcity in the country might not be unconnected with the policy on ground where the president ran the ministry from the Aso Villa.

“Yes, some will say that President Buhari decided to retain the ministry to checkmate some malpractices, but I can tell you that we have experts who can do same,” he said.