N/Delta Lawyers task NNPC to make Port Harcourt Refinery operational before end of September

The Coalition of Niger Delta Youth On Energy Reforms and Transparency in the Oil and Gas Sector, has urged the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mele Kyari, to ensure that the Port Harcourt Refinery becomes operational before the end of September as he promised. At a press […]

The Coalition of Niger Delta Youth On Energy Reforms and Transparency in the Oil and Gas Sector, has urged the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mele Kyari, to ensure that the Port Harcourt Refinery becomes operational before the end of September as he promised.

At a press conference jointly addressed yesterday by Barr. Dickens A. Opu and Barr. Werigbelegha Zinake, the group lamented that, despite the billions of naira that have been earmarked and disbursed for the functionality of the Port Harcourt refinery, the refining plant remains non-operational.

The group expressed concern about the energy crisis in the country caused by the non-functionality of local refineries, continued dependence on the importation of petroleum products, and the resulting cost implications for the country.

The Lawyers noted that the failure of the NNPC to revamp local refineries had further worsened the country’s energy crisis and impoverished the people of the oil-producing Niger Delta, who are forced to buy fuel at higher rates than most parts of the country.

The statement read in part: “It is indeed worrisome that an oil-producing country like ours is experiencing an energy crisis occasioned by the non-functionality of our refineries and the continued dependence on the importation of petroleum products and the attendant cost implication for the country.

“It is indeed a shame that successive administrations in the country have done little or nothing to ensure the functionality of the country’s refineries. For example, despite the billions of naira that have been earmarked and disbursed for the functionality of the Port Harcourt refinery, the refining plant remains comatose.

“The attendant impact on the socio-economic life in the Niger Dental region can only be imagined. This is indeed a sorry tale in our quest for sustainable growth and development.

“We are therefore calling on the federal government to look into the plight of the Niger Delta people and do all that is necessary to improve the lot of the people through the entrenchment of transparency and accountability in the administration of the oil and gas sector in the country. The first step in this regard is to ensure the full functionality of the Port Harcourt refinery and other refineries in the country.

“The time to act is now and it is our firm belief that the relevant authorities would act in the best interest of the Niger Delta people and the country at large.”