President Bola Tinubu has assured Nigerians that the country’s refineries will eventually resume operations, stressing that his administration is working to rebuild the petroleum sector and make the facilities commercially viable.
The President gave the assurance on Thursday when he received the leadership of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Tinubu also expressed concern that the benefits of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) were not sufficiently reaching commuters, saying much of the savings appeared to be going to truck owners.
The President described NUPENG as an important partner in the Nigerian economy and recalled his determination to remove the fuel subsidy despite opposition and the threat of industrial action by oil workers.
He said the removal of the subsidy had created resources for governments at the federal, state and local levels to meet their obligations, including the payment of workers’ salaries and funding of major infrastructure projects.
Tinubu cited ongoing projects such as the Lagos-Ibadan, Abuja-Kaduna and Abuja-Kano highways, as well as the Sokoto-Badagry road, as examples of infrastructure being supported by the government’s economic reforms.
On CNG, the President urged petroleum transport operators to ensure that the benefits of cheaper fuel translate into lower costs for Nigerians.
He said the gains from the initiative were currently not spreading as quickly as expected and called for a broader impact on commuters.
Addressing concerns over the country’s refineries, Tinubu said the facilities would return to operation, but noted that merely producing smoke or flames would not be enough to demonstrate success.
According to him, the refineries must operate profitably and deliver the economic value for which they were established.
The President said he had accepted responsibility for both the assets and liabilities inherited from previous administrations and was committed to fixing the challenges in the petroleum sector.
He expressed optimism that continued reforms, perseverance and determination would eventually bring relief to Nigerians and create a better economy.
Earlier, NUPENG President, Comrade Salimon Akanni Oladiti, appealed to Tinubu to intervene in the growing practice of casualisation in the oil and gas industry, particularly in the upstream sector.
Oladiti described the practice as unhealthy and said repeated efforts by the union to persuade affected companies to end it had yielded little success.
He urged the President to use his office to protect workers from prolonged casual employment and ensure better conditions across the industry.
The NUPENG leader also commended the Federal Government for rehabilitating and expanding major highways, saying improved roads would make transportation safer and easier for petroleum tanker drivers.
He, however, called for the revival of the Nigerian Pipelines and Storage Company depots across the country.
Oladiti said restoring the depots would complement efforts to revive the nation’s refineries and improve petroleum distribution.
He further suggested that the depots could be handed over to credible private investors under an equity arrangement to ensure efficient management and sustained operations.
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