Nnewi-born billionaire and Managing Director of Capital Oil and Gas, Dr. Ifeanyi Ubah, has offered the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration what he described as the solution to the biting recession, as well as crash the proliferating Dollar/Naira disparity in the foreign exchange market.
Speaking at the World Youth Gathering, Holy Ghost Adoration Ground, Uke in Idemili North Local
Government Area of Anambra State, Ubah lamented, stating that there was nothing wrong with the Nigerian economy. Rather, he pointed out the country's lack of good economic managers as being responsible for the current economic plight.
Recall that last February, Ubah had vowed on national television that if consulted by President Buhari, he could use his technical know-how to stabilize the Naira to an exchange rate of N200=$1.
At the time, the Dollar/Naira disparity had skyrocketed that N400 was already exchanging for $1 in the Parallel market.
Insisting on his earlier stance of possessing the technical expertise on how the Dollar/Naira disparity can be crashed, Dr. Ubah pointed that "the only solution to Nigeria's economic problems is one - addressing the cancer that has persistently eaten up our Forex. According to him, the cancer responsible for the proliferating Dollar/Naira disparity can be eliminated if 10 modular refineries are set up. "The second cancer that is affecting us is the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)." Ubah stated.
The oil magnate stated at the Adoration Ground in Uke, "I said that I am going to bring down the dollars, I sought for consultations because in the past I have done so many things and at the end of the day, people took the glory. This is an issue that is very important to me. The Government must understand this. Bill Gates, one of the richest men in the World today said, 'it's not about academics, it's about being streetwise."
"Money-making is an art. There is nobody that can't make money. It depends on how you design the art of making money. Now, let me give you an example today and let me also proffer a solution to Nigeria's economic problems.
"The biggest Forex consumer in Nigeria today is the Petroleum Product Downstream sector, of which I am the leader. Petroleum products take over 75 per cent of the Forex that Nigeria generates. Therefore, if you want to attack the difference between the Naira and the Dollar, which no expert has been able to find a solution, what you need to do is to find an alternative, so that the demand for Forex needed for the importation of petroleum products will crash.
"If you do that, you have taken away 75 percent of that cancer that is taking away our dollars. And how do you do this? There's what is called top-up refineries. Some top-up refineries can cost us as little as $200million.
"If I am the Chief Economist of this country, and I want to bring back the value of Naira and bring life back to the economy of Nigeria, what I need to do is to take up a $2 billion bond from our reserve. If I am able to take a bond of $2billion from our reserve, which is not money I am spending, but a bond, our money remains. I can take this $2billion and then share it among 10 companies. In those 10 companies, I will create Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) of 10 oil marketers to one company.
"If you bring 10 oil marketers to run one company and Government funds them for 10 years, it means that all of us will go there and we will bring the best of us to manage the company.
"Therefore, what we are going to do is create 10 companies along the whole water lines of Nigeria, and in six months time, we can now refine our crude oil here in Nigeria, instead of taking it abroad to refine. By so doing, we don't need to buy dollars anymore to import petroleum products. It means that we can now be refining our crude oil, using it to meet our own petroleum needs.
"Petroleum product is one of the biggest factor today in this country. Without fuel, nobody can drive to Uke today. If students go on strike, Government may show neglect. If doctors go on strike, Government may neglect. But once there is a strike over fuel, the Government will always run to see how it will stop the strike."
According to the Publisher of Authority Newspapers, "We must understand that fuel is a critical factor in Nigeria. Because it's a critical factor in Nigeria today, Government is so fragile towards challenging the petroleum industry. This is very important and whoever the Chief Economist of Nigeria is, he/she must take this as the only solution. There is no other solution".
"This solution is coming today at the Adoration Ground and this is the first time I am saying it. That is the secret that I said I needed them (government) to consult me. But today, if they can translate it, they will know that Holy Ghost of Adoration Ground has revealed it."
The President FC Ifeanyi Ubah said, "The only solution to Nigeria's economic problems is one - addressing the cancer that eats up our Forex and setting up 10 modular refineries can solve that problem. The second cancer that is affecting us is the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
"The duty of EFCC is to look into financial crimes. The duty of EFCC is to look into those that have taken so many waivers. So many people in Nigeria today are big men because they are enjoying government waivers. Majority of Nigeria's big men are lazy people. They always find a way to take waivers.
"The EFCC must come to terms with their duty and create a real economic crime desk. If the EFCC can look into every importer accessing dollars and what our dollars are being used for. If the EFCC can create an economic code that everybody that must use to access dollars making it mandatory that every bid should be made through the EFCC, if everybody is made to sign a guarantee that the government can look into whatever he/she has bid and monitor the use of the money, those that are milking Nigeria's dollars will run away.
"The EFCC must stop the pursuit of only past leaders. Not that they should not do their job by going after past leaders, but they need to look into the amount of Nigerians that are taking waivers, they need to look at the number of people accessing dollars for agricultural contents who divert the same dollars to Dubai and then bring the dollar back into the country to make money without doing anything.
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