Oshiomhole's reckless words could cost Nigeria billions in investments

Senator Adams Oshiomhole recently called the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited "a bunch of criminals and thieves" during a Senate session. I read this and I had to pause. This is a man who once led labour unions and now sits in the upper chamber, yet he chooses to throw such weighty accusations without evidence. Even his colleagues in the Senate had to formally distance themselves from his remarks through a motion sponsored by Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele on Thursday, 11 June.

What many people do not realise is how damaging this kind of talk is for a country desperately seeking foreign investment. Senator Adamu Aliero, former Kebbi State governor, described the statement as "reckless" and warned it could damage Nigeria's investment image internationally. He is correct. When a sitting senator calls our most important state-owned enterprise a den of criminals, what do you think international investors hear? They hear instability, corruption, and risk. They take their capital elsewhere.

The irony is that the same NNPC that Oshiomhole vilified has opened its books. Umar Ajiya, the former Chief Financial Officer, testified that the total revenue earned by NNPC from 2017 to 2023 was ₦54.5 trillion, not the ₦210 trillion some senators were claiming was missing. He even challenged anyone to call the EFCC and NFIU for a forensic investigation. That is not the language of someone hiding something. So I ask you, when did political grandstanding become more important than the truth?