he Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene in the delays in the rehabilitation of the 210,000 barrels-per-day Port Harcourt Refinery and the Warri and Kaduna Refineries.
PETROAN made this call known in a statement on Monday by its spokesperson, Joseph Obele, quoting the National President, Billy Gillis-Harry.
The petroleum retailers lamented the continued delays in the completion of the refineries.
According to PETROAN, the delays have impacted the price stability of petrol and Nigeria’s economy.
PETROAN demanded that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited should provide a specific completion timeline for the ongoing rehabilitation at the refineries.
Gillis-Harry said the 100 percent completion of these refineries would “reduce the cost of logistics/transportation of petroleum products from Lagos to the System 2E areas.”
“PETROAN therefore demands that the NNPC provide a specific and realistic timeline for the completion and commissioning of these refineries, especially the second Port Harcourt Refinery rehabilitation project. The second Port Harcourt refinery, when completed, will serve the whole of System 2E, comprising about 13 states.
“Nigerians and stakeholders want to know the exact date of delivery of the revamp project.
The Nigerian people deserve clarity on when they can expect the refineries to commence operations and contribute to alleviating the nation’s fuel scarcity challenges.
“We call on the relevant authorities to ensure that the NNPC adheres strictly to the contract timeline, once provided, and maintains regular communication with stakeholders on the project’s progress,” the statement partly reads.
Recall that the former Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Mele Kyari, announced the completion of a section of the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries. However, there have been controversies over the petroleum production capacity of the revamped refineries.
In April, President Tinubu sacked Kyari and other board members. Kyari’s sack had triggered calls for his probe over the mismanagement of funds under his leadership.
However, mixed reactions have continued to trail Kyari’s probe.
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