THIS DAY
Some groups, under the aegis of Coalition of Niger Delta Youths Against Poverty, Insecurity & Environmental Degradation (CONDYAPIED), have expressed disappointment over the alleged failure of the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, to operationalise the Port Harcourt Refinery before the end of September 2024 as promised.
The NNPCL boss had on several occasions assured Nigerians that the Port Harcourt Refinery would start local refining and that prices of petroleum products would reduce drastically before the deadline of September 2024.
A month later, neither of the Port Harcourt, Warri nor Kaduna refineries is functioning, safe for only Dangote Refinery, as marketers still import refined petroleum into the country, thereby causing serious hike in the price of petrol.
A press statement on Sunday, jointly signed by Mr. Jonas Igariga, Coordinator of the coalition and Comrade Jack Opobo, General Secretary of the coalition called on Kyari to tender his resignation letter and apologize to Nigerians.
“In a sane society where leaders have conscience, the likes of Mele Kyari should burry their heads in shame and tender their resignation and apologise to Nigerians for plunging the entire nation into untold hardship,” the coalition said.
The coalition stated that in spite of huge funds injected into the Port Harcourt Refinery, Kyari prefers importation of refined products, to making local refinery operational, despite his many promises.
“The NNPCL GCEO has failed Nigerians, times without number, on the issue of Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Warri Refineries after blowing over $3 billion on the project. It has been discovered that Mele Kyari and his goons have no plans to fix any refinery as they prefer to import adulterated products into the country and milk the citizens dry.
“NNPCL cabal and their importers are deliberately sabotaging the good intentions of President Tinubu by making sure there are queues and Nigerians buy the product at any price fixed and given to them by the oil lords. We shall not fold our hands and allow this to happen,” the statement added.
According to the statement, several warnings had gone to Kyari in the past, to fulfill his promise by making sure the Port Harcourt Refinery becomes operational in September; but to no avail.
“We read the statement signed by the Coalition of Niger Delta Youth On Energy Reforms and Transparency in the Oil and Gas Sector, urging Kyari to ensure that the Port Harcourt Refinery became operational before the end of September as he promised.
“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.
“They noted that the failure of NNPC has further worsened the country’s energy crisis and impoverished the people of the oil-producing Niger Delta.
