…Says it’s time to fix them or we quench
The Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Malam Mele Kyari, has declared that the management of the corporation has become tired of telling stories and giving excuses about the nation’s ailing refineries.
Kyari, however, assured that the corporation will do everything required to ensure that the four refineries were fixed so that they start functioning at full capacity.
The GMD who stated this on Friday during his maiden working visit to the Port Harcour Refinery Company, added that the corporation will ensure that major operations for fixing of the refinery commenced by January next year.
Kyari assured the company’s workers’ union that the national oil firm remains committed to total rehabilitation of the facility, saying, the present state of the refineries has brought shame to the NNPC and the country.
He said it had become impossible for the corporation to have a conversation anywhere without the issue of the refinery being raised.
He said: “First and foremost, I have come here for a single reason,and that is to ensure we get this refinery to work. It must work. All of our refineries must work. It is either we fix it or quench. If we don’t fix it we will all quench. We cannot afford not to fix them. It must never happen We have moved from point of hope to hopelessness. We have to stop this, and the way to stop it is for all of us to work together to make sure that these refineries work.
“If this family cannot deliver this, there can be no conversation with anybody. Government is not going to talk to anybody, they are tired of us. The owners of this family are tired of us. They are tired of our stories. We keep telling them we will repair it, we will fix it, we will do turn around maintenance. Since I came here since 1991, I know that this is the same story.
“Turn around maintenance that will never work. The refineries have never worked at 90 per cent capacity since I joined the group. That is the truth. So we have to change this narrative. We need all of us to make it work. And my reasons of coming here is to see how far we are going with the work we are doing so that the real must start in January.
“Whatever it takes we will get it to start in January. And I am here to confirm all the schedules that the COO has promised to deliver with his team. And I am not in doubt. I am just coming here to give you more confidence that we are behind you. We are aligning with you…to deliver on that single task of fixing these refineries.
According to him, “It is a shame for our country, for all of us. We cannot converse with anybody anywhere without raising the issue of our refineries. And I am not ashamed of saying it, in many places, even yesterday, I said all of them are down to lower capacity. That is the situation.”
He added: “Continue what you are doing – delivering on our task, meeting our schedules, and be sure we are all lining behind you”.
“On behalf of the corporation, we have to get this refinery to work that’s the long and short of it. For all of us it’s either it works or we perish,” said Kyari.
He also told the union members that without the refinery, there would be no compensation from the government as they have made several promises on the refinery in the past.
“They are tired of our stories that we keep telling them that we are repairing, we will fix it since I joined NNNPC 1961.
Kyari further expressed optimism that the Chief Operating Officer (COO) in charge of the facility and his team would deliver on the project.
“I’m not doubting but I want to give you full assurance that we are behind you because it’s a shame for our country,” he said.
SOURCE: TheWhistler