- Misses 7th Production Rollout Deadline
By Abiola Olawale
Nigerians have begun to express concern over the inability of the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, to meet his deadline for the operational production at the Port Harcourt refinery in Rivers State.
This is as the Refinery continues to be non-operational, failing to produce the much-needed Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as fuel to date.
It would be recalled that in July 2024, Kyari, while appearing before the Senate stated that: “I can confirm to you, Mr Chairman, that by the end of the year, this country will be a net exporter of petroleum products.
“Specific to NNPC refineries, we have spoken to a number of your committees, and it is impossible to have the Kaduna refinery come into operation before December, it will get to December, both Warri and Kaduna, but that of Port Harcourt will commence production early August this year.”
However, the Port-Harcourt refinery’s failure to commence fuel production after the most recent deadline set by the NNPCL has led to emerging concerns.
The New Diplomat reports that the Port-Harcourt refinery in Alesa Eleme, southeast of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has been scheduled to start operations seven times, but it remains non-operational at the time of this report.
Kyari earlier this year had initially stated categorically that the refinery would come into operation on the timeline he has determined.
Checks by the New Diplomat reveal that the refinery is still yet to begin production of fuel as of the time of filing this report.
This is coming after the NNPCL, which is in charge of all the government refineries, had given Nigerians different dates, assuring them that the refinery would begin the sale of refined products soon.
Earlier on, Kyari, in 2019 said that the NNPC would deliver all the country’s four refineries before the end of the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, whose tenure ended in 2023.
However, the promise was not fulfilled as Nigerians began to demand accountability and the status of the Port Harcourt refinery, as well as other refineries in the country.
Below are some of the reactions curated from social media:
“”Portharcourt Refinery is completed, it’ll start work by September ending” – Mele Kyari
Today is October 2nd, not working!”(@TimDoc4)
“Sack NNPC boss. Why is that so hard?!”(@cl4p14)
“And nobody is getting sacked or fined we don’t have serious leaders in this country.”(@Micheal Ola)
“There is nothing wrong with the refinery, it is a deliberate attempt for them to make sure it doesn’t work for the reasons best known to them.”(@Samuel Idowu Justice)
