Tinubu Vows to Revive Nigeria’s Refineries After ‘Reset’

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has assured that Nigeria’s refineries will be revived after a comprehensive reset, restructuring and technical assessment aimed at making the facilities profitable and productive.
Tinubu gave the assurance on Thursday in Abuja when he received the National Executive Council of the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), led by its National President, Comrade Salimon Akanni Oladiti, at the State House.
The President said the government would not allow the nation’s refineries to waste away, considering the huge investments made in them over the years.
He explained that the challenges facing the facilities would be addressed through detailed research, technical assessments and a systematic review of their structural, operational, financial and managerial conditions.
According to Tinubu, merely seeing flames and smoke from a refinery does not mean the facility is functioning effectively, stressing that the ultimate goal is to ensure the refineries operate profitably and deliver the value for which they were established.
“The refineries that you mentioned are going to come back to work; we’re just building a very firm, resetting, and structural reworking of the economy of it,” Tinubu said.
The President also said he had accepted responsibility for fixing the country’s inherited assets and liabilities, assuring Nigerians that his administration would work towards making the economy deliver greater value to citizens.
Tinubu further said constitutional issues surrounding the implementation of local government autonomy were being reviewed, with possible adjustments being considered, while appealing for understanding among stakeholders.
He also acknowledged the late former NUPENG president, Frank Kokori, for his contribution to Nigeria’s democratic struggle, recalling their shared efforts in the fight for democracy.
On the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), Tinubu promised greater inclusion for NUPENG in its implementation but challenged the union to ensure that the benefits of the initiative reach ordinary commuters.
Earlier, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, commended NUPENG for recognising what he described as positive outcomes of the Tinubu administration’s reforms.
Idris said the union’s acknowledgement of the reforms, particularly the removal of fuel subsidy, represented an important development in relations between organised labour and the Federal Government.
NUPENG President Oladiti, while commending Tinubu for removing the fuel subsidy, described the decision as courageous and said it had helped free resources for infrastructure development and other sectors of the economy.
He specifically praised the administration’s ongoing road construction and rehabilitation projects, including the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway.
However, Oladiti urged the President to sustain efforts to revive the nation’s refineries, saying functional refineries would strengthen Nigeria’s energy security, reduce dependence on imported petroleum products and create more opportunities for Nigerian workers.