For coming out to disparage a leader from the host community of the Port Harcourt refinery, a group known as the Network of Oil Producing Communities in Nigeria (NOPCN) has come hard on the foremost regulatory agency, Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL).
This was even as the group called on President Bola Tinubu to relieve the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of NNPCL, Mallam Mele Kyari, of his duties for misleading the President and Nigerians about the operation of the Port Harcourt refinery.
In a statement on Sunday signed by the President, Engr Igeniwari Edward, and Comrade Omototsho Ogbe, the group corroborated the comments of the Secretary of the Alesa Community Stakeholders, Timothy Mgbere, saying the petroleum products loaded from the newly rehabilitated Port-Harcourt Refinery were not freshly refined but dead stocks left in the facility’s storage tank since 2016.
“Before shutting down in 2016, the Port Harcourt refinery had a large quantity of dead stock left in the tank, which was only evacuated from the storage to some trucks during the rehabilitation of Old Area 5.
“Some dead stocks like Premium Motor Spirit (petrol), DPK (kerosene), and Automated Gas Oil (diesel) were stored in large quantities in the tanks. NNPC evacuated them into waiting trucks, making the President and Nigerians believe they were loading freshly refined products into those trucks.
“It is not only Chief Mgbere that knew about this fact; all of us from Alesa, in fact, all the suburbs in Eleme, can attest to this.
“It also doesn’t surprise us that the NNPCL shut down the refinery sooner than they claimed it was operating. That’s because they ran out of lies and couldn’t further persuade the President.
“Kyari should be sober right now. I believe he already knows that the much celebrated 60,000 capacity segment of the refinery they claimed to have rehabilitated was shut down 2 days ago. No activity is happening there any longer.
“The President should not wait any longer before he sacks Mele Kyari and all his accomplices in this national monumental trick they pulled on Nigerians on Tuesday. He should not only be sacked, but Kyari should also tell Nigerians what happened to the over N17 trillion naira injected into the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries.
“Nigerians should also join our Network to say NO to converting any refineries into a blending plant. We all know the environmental degradation our people have faced over oil exploration and bunkering activities. We don’t want any further hazards on our land. Kyari should deliver exactly what the government paid for and stop fighting our leaders in the host communities”, the statement read.
Chief Mgbere, Secretary to Alesa Community Stakeholders Forum, had appeared on a national television show on Thursday, alleging that the Port Harcourt refinery only loaded six trucks on Tuesday, despite stating that 200 trucks would be picked up from the refinery daily, adding that the many trucks parked within the premises were tucked up with dead stock and off-spec of old products.
Alesa, one of the 10 major communities in Eleme, Rivers State, is the host community of the Port-Harcourt Refinery.
But in response to the allegations, the NNPCL denied claims by an Alesa community leader in a statement signed Friday by its Spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye, saying the agency did not lie when it said the Port Harcourt refinery was producing crude oil.
The NNPCL accused Mgbere of crass ignorance of how a refinery runs, saying he would not have dignified him with a response if not for a need to set the records straight.
“We call on the general public to disregard the claims of the self-acclaimed ‘community person’ which are borne out of sheer mischief and blatant display of ignorance,” NNPCL had said.
Meanwhile, an exclusive report emerging from Sahara Reporters Saturday night corroborated the position of the Network of Oil Producing Communities in Nigeria, that the NNPCL has shut down operation “at the moment” with only its non-petroleum unit, the Crude Distillation Unit (CDU), running.
Top refinery sources disclosed that the CDU produces naphtha, kerosene, and diesel but cannot make the components needed for the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol.
“The Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) is still running, but the depot is shut down. The CDU produces naphtha, diesel, and kerosene but cannot make the components for the production of PMS.
“All these products cannot serve the masses as they are produced in small quantities even if the plant runs at 100% throughput. The processing plant of 150,000bpd capacity will commence operations in 2026; that is if money is made readily available to meet the timelines because, at the moment, the project has exceeded $ 2 billion”, a top official of the agency said.
