First Republic minister of Mines and Power, Alhaji Maitama Sule, has said that ownership of oil wells by individual Nigerians was the cause of the corruption in governance.
He said that because of this ownership, billions of naira that was supposed to be remitted to the federal government treasury was diverted to individual foreign accounts.
Maitama who was also a former Nigerian permanent representative at the United Nations also argued that the discovery of oil in Nigeria was both a blessing and a curse. He it was a blessing to Nigerians because it brought to the nation huge amount of money and a curse because it brought corruption.
He blamed corrupt government officials for the wasteful extravagance of the oil resources and accused the leaders of sending their girlfriends to do their hair in Paris, and shop in London and holidays in New York.
He noted that they built mansions in the midst of ghettos with no access road and purchase luxurious limousines only to drive them on the rough and dusty roads of Nigeria all with stolen money.
He however stated that oil exploration begun in Nigeria with a dashed hope as the exploring companies couldn’t find oil initially and had vacated the sites in the Niger Delta area.