PH Refinery Revival Fulfilment Of Agreement Reached With FG Before Subsidy Removal- Labour
Organised labour, which comprises the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), and other sister unions, has said that the revival of the Port Harcourt Refinery is part of the agreement reached with the federal government during negotiations on fuel subsidy removal.
The NLC President, Joe Ajaero said this during a tour at the Port Harcourt-based refinery alongside other union leaders including the TUC President, Festus Osifo, among others.
On November 26, 2024 the NNPCL announced that the refinery has commenced production of petroleum products.
Despite the success achieved, some critics have argued that the refinery was not functional, leading to the assessment of the refinery by labour unions and other experts.
The NLC president in his submission expressed excitement that the NNPCL on behalf of the government has fulfilled its promise by delivering the Port Harcourt Refinery.
When fuel subsidy was removed in 2023, President Bola Tinubu had tasked the NNPC to deliver the 210,000 bpd refinery in Port Harcourt.
Ajaero said “It is a continuation of an agreement we signed with the government when there was increase in the pump price of petroleum products.
“Part of that agreement was that this station (refinery) must work. And we have made efforts to emphasise it repeatedly and now that it is working, it is our duty to come here to confirm that it is working.
“So, it is an extension of an earlier agreement which we reached.”
The TUC president, Osifo, reacting said the team has assessed the plant, adding that the refinery is “relatively new.”
He said, “Going through the plant, we were shown the various processing units. We were shown the burners, the heat exchangers, compressors, turbines and how these processes tie into the production of petroleum product as at today.
“To a very large extent, we are satisfied with what we have seen. The level of work and details that went into it.
“You could say that we have a relatively new refinery today because when you see an engineering process whereby you are having new compressors, you are having new turbines and literarily, all the pumps are new and a lot of the lines where changed.
“So, if the major components of a processing plant like this where procured newly and installed, you could say to a very large extent that a refinery like this is relatively new.”
In an exclusive chat with the Chief Executive Officer of AKD Digital Solutions, Daere Akobo, he told THE WHISTLER that the refinery will provide more option for Nigerians.
Akobo said, “The refinery will compliment the Dangote Refinery investment. It brings about multiple players in the market. If you go to other countries, they have several refineries. So, this is not the first.
“I want to congratulate the president and Minister of Petroleum, Bola Tinubu, the NNPC and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPC) for that giant strive.
“I worked in the refinery at some point. I was responsible for building the Bonny Export Terminal Project.”
PH Refinery Revival Fulfilment Of Agreement Reached With FG Before Subsidy Removal- Labour is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
