President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has assured Nigerians that the country’s refineries will be revived and repositioned to deliver value and profitability, stressing that the Federal Government would not allow the huge investments in the facilities to go to waste.
President Tinubu gave the assurance on Thursday in Abuja when he received the National Executive of the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), led by its National President, Comrade Salimon Akanni Oladiti, at the State House.
Responding to NUPENG’s appeal for the revival of the nation’s refineries, the President said the Federal Government would adopt a systematic and evidence-based approach to addressing the structural, operational, financial and managerial challenges affecting the facilities.
He said detailed research and technical assessments would be undertaken to determine the problems confronting the refineries and develop sustainable solutions.
“The refineries that you mentioned are going to come back to work; we’re just building a very firm, resetting, and structural reworking of the economy of it. Ordinary flame and smoke of a refinery doesn’t mean that it’s working until it’s profitable and yields the value for which it is built,” the President said.
Tinubu said he had accepted responsibility for fixing the challenges inherited from previous administrations, regardless of how long the problems had persisted.
“I take responsibility for that, and we will do it,” he assured.
The President also appealed to stakeholders to support the democratic process, promising that Nigerians would ultimately enjoy a better country.
On local government autonomy, President Tinubu said constitutional issues surrounding its implementation were being reviewed for possible fine-tuning, while appealing for understanding among stakeholders.
He also paid tribute to the late former NUPENG President, Frank Kokori, recalling their shared struggle for democracy in Nigeria.
“You brought good memories of my relationship with Frank Kokori; may his soul rest in peace. We struggled for this democratic dispensation together, and it was very tough for us to have this democracy,” Tinubu said.
The President further promised greater inclusion for NUPENG in the implementation of the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), urging the union to ensure that the benefits of the programme reach ordinary commuters.
Speaking at the meeting, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, commended NUPENG for acknowledging what he described as the positive outcomes of the Tinubu administration’s reform agenda.
Idris said the recognition by the influential oil and gas workers’ union had helped to reduce friction between organised labour and the government.
He recalled previous engagements between the Federal Government and labour unions, including President Tinubu’s approval of wage increases and his position that workers should not have to wait five years before seeking a review of the minimum wage.
The Minister said NUPENG’s acknowledgement of the impact of major government reforms, particularly the removal of fuel subsidy and increased infrastructure development, was significant.
Earlier, NUPENG President, Comrade Salimon Akanni Oladiti, commended President Tinubu for taking what he described as the courageous decision to remove fuel subsidy.
He said the policy had helped reduce financial pressure on the country and freed resources for infrastructure development and other sectors of the economy.
Oladiti particularly praised the administration’s renewed attention to federal highways, citing the ongoing 750-kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the 1,068-kilometre Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway as major infrastructure projects.
“For our members, a good road is the difference between arriving home safely and never arriving at all,” he said, stressing that improved roads would reduce accidents, petroleum spillages, loss of lives and hardship for tanker drivers and other road users.
He, however, urged the President to sustain efforts toward reviving the nation’s refineries, noting that functional refineries would strengthen Nigeria’s energy security, reduce dependence on imported petroleum products and create more opportunities for Nigerian workers.
At the end of the meeting, the NUPENG leadership decorated President Tinubu as the Grand Patron of the union.
