…Calls For Licensing Of Artisanal Refineries
The Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) has hailed the commencement of refining of petroleum products by Port Harcourt refineries, saying that its resumption will create jobs for Nigerians and boost availability of products.
The Forum also called on President Bola Tinubu to ensure that the artisanal refineries in the region are licensed to commence production.
Recall that the Port Harcourt Refinery has finally commenced fuel production.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) which confirmed this through its spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye, said the loading of trucks started Tuesday
PANDEF spokesperson, Chief (Dr.) Obiuwevbi Ominimini, told Daily Independent that the operation will be of economic benefit to all Nigerians.
He said, “It’ll boost availability of fuel in the country, thereby reducing scarcity and providing employment for Nigeria citizens.”
While calling for the licensing of artisanal refineries, he said, “We have local refineries in the region and recently we learnt that a joint task force destroyed so many of them. Why is it that in the midst of a shortfall of petroleum products, local refineries are being destroyed?
“We’re calling on President Tinubu to put a legal framework in place so that artisanal refineries can key into it and get certificates to refine the products. It’ll generate employment. Is it not a shame that local people have technology through which they turn crude oil into diesel, fuel, kerosene etcetera? They should be encouraged instead of the taskforce destroying the refineries. Government should rather give them certificates to operate to create jobs for our people.
“In fact it’s good that the locals have technology to refine crude oil. Their counterparts in northern Nigeria are mining the gold. As we speak the Federal Government cannot tell us what it has sent to the Niger Delta States from the money gotten from the gold but all the states across the country are getting money from the crude oil and gas from the Niger Delta. Government should be sincere to the plight of the people of Niger Delta.”
The organisation also called for the commercialisation of all the refineries in the region.
Ominimini added, “The refinery in Warri is down and a lot of money has been put into this refinery. Till today nobody has been punished for the failure of this refinery to work after a huge amount of money has been spent for turnaround maintenance. This refinery has been used to drain the economy thus denying the citizens the opportunity to have good employment.
“We want to ask the Federal Government to commercialise all the refineries. The Port Harcourt refinery should be commercialised into a public liability company. Look at Seplat, it’s a public liability company and it’s functioning very well. Government has no business running enterprises, instead it should go into joint ventures with people who can manage them very well. The NLNG that is in partnership with other International Oil Companies (IOCs) are functioning very well. It’s by commercializing them that they would work. We have discovered that public officers are using the refineries as means of enriching their pockets.
While lamenting the marginalisation of the region, he noted that the Niger Delta people are not happy about the situation of things in Nigeria.
“We have so many ports in the Niger Delta, the Koko port, Port Harcourt port, Warri port, all of these ports in the region ought to generate employment to the teaming youths of the Niger Delta but it looks as if there’s a deliberate policy to short change Niger Delta of infrastructural development.
“Lagos sea port is jam-packed, people cannot clear their goods easily when there are other ports in Nigeria.
“The excuse that we have a shallow route is not true because as we speak all the pipes that are used for Kaduna, Kano Gas line projects come through Warri port. Which other thing is heavier than pipe, iron itself? This is to tell you that the issue of shallow waters doesn’t arise. Those pipes are coming through Warri ports because it is close to the source of the train. It is high time Nigerians considered using the ports located in Niger Delta.
SOURCE: Independent