November 27, (THEWILL) – A civil society group, Concerned Citizens of Nigeria, has raised concerns over the announcement by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPCL) Ltd that the Port Harcourt Refinery has commenced processing of crude oil.
The national oil company had announced that trucks, on Tuesday, commenced the loading of petroleum products including Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) or petrol, Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) or diesel and Household Kerosene (HHK) or Kerosene and other product slates at its Port Harcourt refinery.
President Bola Tinubu, who expressed his excitement over the announcement of the commencement of crude oil processing at the Port Harcourt Refinery, directed the company to prioritise the timely reactivation of the second Port Harcourt refinery, as well as the Warri and Kaduna refineries.
However, at a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, the Group faulted the claim by the NNPC that the Port Harcourt Refinery has commenced operation.
Alleging that the refinery has been converted into a blending plant, the group accused NNPC of hatchet plan to sell imported, substandard petrol to Nigerians as locally refined fuel.
Speaking through its National coordinator, Comrade Mahmud Abdul, the Group described the announcement of commencement of crude oil processing at the Port Harcourt refinery as a ruse, designed to deceive Nigerians.
Urging the Federal Government to investigate the matter and hold those found culpable to account, the Group said, “We are worried that NNPCL might have misled the country as it has yet to debunk a report it rather that bought ‘Cracked C5 petroleum resins’ and blended it with other products like Naphtha to sell to the Nigerian public as its own product.
“We invite you to note that this reported commencement of operations comes after shifts in dates on at least seven different occasions. NNPCL’s past ineptitude and unbridled corruption give us concerns that the so-called commencement of operations of the refinery has the markings of a fluke, a ruse designed to make Nigerians stop questioning the eternal deadlines that the organisation set.
“The Corporation has now made a bad situation worse by stage managing a resumption of production since it has now been established that NNPCL is not trucking out Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), better known as petrol, from its Port Harcourt Refinery.
“Instead, some videos of NNPCL branded trucks that were used to announce that the refinery has resumed operations and started trucking out PMS were mere movie productions to mislead Nigerians.
“The Concerned Citizens of Nigeria are aware that the supposed commencement was first flown as a kite by certain media platforms quoting unnamed sources, which was purely a false flag operation to test the response of Nigerians.
“The formal speech to the media by the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPCL, Femi Soneye announcing the development was only made after the organisation’s top management concluded that there were limited reactions to their flown kite.
“Our analysis of this development advised us of two possibilities. The first is that the refinery would be stressed to run for a few weeks before the NNPCL and its Mele Kyari-led management saddle the country with a bill for further repairs. A failure to succumb to this blackmail will result in the facility again becoming moribund.
“A second possibility is that NNPCL has not repaired or restored the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) Limited to its heydays. This means that the refinery has been technically downgraded and retooled into a blending plant.
“Recall that Nigerians had warned that NNPCL would turn Port Harcourt Refinery into a blending plant. Such concerns were expressed as recently as two months ago in September when some groups faulted the alleged move to convert the Port Harcourt refinery into a blending plant.
“The feeler from this latest development has confirmed that this is exactly what is happening, as petroleum products imported into Nigeria by Kyari would now be sold to Nigerians as locally refined fuel.
“A true test of whether NNPCL will release petrol from the Port Harcourt Refinery into the market would be the pricing. Mele Kyari’s NNPCL plans to sustain the current price band for petrol since that is the only way they can remain profitable from passing off imported substandard petrol as refined in Port Harcourt.”
Felix Ifijeh is a journalist with years of professional reporting experience. Known for his keen news sense, compelling storytelling and commitment to accurate, impactful reporting, he has built a reputation for turning leads into clear, engaging, and well-structured reports that resonate with readers. His work reflects deep newsroom experience and a commitment to accurate, impactful journalism.
