Former minister Femi Fani-Kayode has alleged that private sector elements are trying to undermine the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) ’s achievement in resurrecting the Port Harcourt refinery.
Fani-Kayode in a post on X said the refinery rehabilitation is a significant victory for Nigeria, and credit should go to the President and the NNPC’s Managing Director, Mele Kyari.
While saying that oil business is different from other commodities, Fani-Kayode noted that “no matter how hard you try, you cannot muscle your way and create a monopoly on the sale of refined products as you did for other commodities over the years.”
He urged Nigerians to support the NNPC refineries and the new private sector players, promoting healthy competition and progress for Nigeria.
“The resurrection of the Port Harcourt refinery is one of the most encouraging things that has happened in the petroleum sector for many years and the credit for this must go to the President and the Group Managing Director of the NNPC Ltd,” he said.
“It is a pity that some elements in the private sector, who are new in the field, are doing all they can to undermine and understate this great victory for Nigeria.
“The oil business is not the same as selling sugar, spaghetti, cement, or rice.
“NNPC will go from strength to strength, and once its other refineries are working as well, Nigerians will have cause to smile again. Let the new kid on the block flourish, but let the NNPC refineries flourish, too. That should be our goal and not a squalid attempt to discredit NNPC and its leadership.”
Fani-Kayode’s claims come at a time when the Dangote refinery remained the sole refinery in Nigeria before the resuscitation of the Port Harcourt Refinery by the NNPC.
Industry experts also alleged that key stakeholders in the oil and gas sector of the economy have been working to frustrate the efforts to revive government-owned refineries for their advantage.
