A pro-development group in the oil-rich region, operating under the umbrella of the Niger Delta Development and Transformation Initiative (NDDTI), has declared that no amount of discussions or actions can salvage Nigeria’s energy sector unless local refineries are made operational.
In a press statement made available to newsmen in Abuja by its spokesperson, Barr. Lawrence Etienne, the group urged the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) and its Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Mele Kyari, to stop deceiving Nigerians regarding the Port Harcourt and other refineries.
The group accused the NNPCL of playing politics with the moribund local refineries, stating, “It keeps shifting the goalposts on deadlines for the completion of the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries.”
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The group said, “Every now and then, the NNPCL keeps shifting the goalposts. Just when we think they have run out of excuses, they send Soneye, the spokesperson, to tell us another story.
“We observed that the NNPCL has desisted from giving new deadlines for the delivery of the Port Harcourt refinery, having failed to meet its deadlines seven times. The last deadline given was September 2024.
“Since December 2023, the NNPCL has been giving Nigerians various dates, assuring them that the refinery would soon begin the sale of refined products, claiming it had attained mechanical completion.
“In July, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPCL, Mele Kyari, categorically stated that the refinery would come into operation in early August. Back in 2019, he had said the NNPC would deliver all the country’s four refineries before the end of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
“President Muhammadu Buhari left office a year and a half ago, yet none of Nigeria’s refineries are operational despite the billions of dollars the NNPCL collected from the government, much of which was taken as foreign loans,” the group said.
The NDDTI further alleged that Kyari “deceived” the Nigerian Senate when he appeared before it in July 2024, promising the Distinguished Lawmakers that by the end of the year, Nigeria would become a net exporter of petroleum products. The group added, “The year is almost over, yet Nigeria still imports petroleum products, many of which are fake and contain high levels of sulphur.”
According to the group, “The goal is to keep deceiving Nigerians and giving us false hope to distract us from their business of importing adulterated products into the country. This practice crashes our naira further, causes environmental and mechanical hazards, and brings more hardship to Nigerians.
“NNPCL should stop deceiving Nigerians. It’s clear that Kyari is incapable of doing the job and should resign immediately instead of running around aimlessly.
“There is no alternative to local refineries, especially Port Harcourt and Warri, which have consumed trillions of naira.
“No amount of talk or activity from Kyari and his group can salvage our energy sector. They simply need to fix the refineries. Kyari should bury his head in shame and leave the stage,” the statement concluded.
The group also noted that barely two months after the September completion deadline passed, the NNPCL offered an explanation for failing to deliver the much-awaited Port Harcourt Refinery Company.
While interacting with journalists on Monday, the NNPC Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye, stated that the company encountered risks and challenges while rehabilitating the refinery, as it was a brownfield project.
Soneye explained that the NNPC had begun commissioning critical equipment and processing units following the mechanical completion of the project but refused to disclose a new deadline for the refinery’s completion.
Nigerians have remained hopeful that fuel prices could drop if the country begins refining its crude locally and ends the importation of refined products.
The refinery, situated in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta region, has been in operation since 1965 but became moribund several years ago.
In March 2021, the Nigerian government acquired a $1.5 billion loan for the renovation and modernization of the refinery. However, the contractor handling the project has yet to announce its completion.
