The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has advised the Federal government and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), to consider the repairs of the nation’s refineries, as one of the major steps that would make Nigeria attained self-sufficiency in oil production.
This was contained in a statement by its national Senate President, Elvis Ekundina, obtained by Tribune Online, on Friday, stating that Nigeria’s continued importation of petroleum products has further worsened the country’s forex crisis.
The student body argued that Nigeria would not achieve rapid economic growth if it continues to import petroleum products from foreign countries.
The association maintained that the Federal government must address the current energy crisis caused by acute shortage of petrol in the Nigerian market by not only repairing the country’s refineries, but also ensuring that they work at optimal capacity.
According to NANS, the country’s refineries, when effectively and efficiently running, can produce enough petroleum products to meet the country’s daily consumption.
The NANS Senate President lamented that Nigeria’s energy crisis had worsened with the removal of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government in May, leading to increases in the pump price of petrol “and only way to address this is by making sure our refineries are back online”.
He argued that Nigeria as an oil producing country need not continue to import fuel if all the nation’s refineries are working at optimal capacity.
He therefore said, “for Nigeria to end the importation of petroleum products, which according to him was draining forex and creating job losses, Nigeria needed to repair its own refineries based on the technological capacity of Nigerians.
“It is our belief that refurbishing and recommissioning our faulty refineries to optimal production level will resolve the nation’s energy crisis.
“This will also resolve the challenges the country is having with foreign exchange and the worsening naira crisis.
“When we are able to repair our refineries and put them back to good use, Nigeria’s problem with fuel insufficiency and pricing will be resolved.
“It is good to have our refineries fully working alongside the Dangote refinery as this will ultimately make Nigeria a net exporter of refined petroleum products and this will also allow for stability in fuel prices”, NANS Senate President added.
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