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Ben Dunno, Warri
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, (IPMAN) Delta State zone, has raised the alarm over the conspiracy of the management of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to frustrate the reopening of the Warri Refinery, in order to perpetuate its concession agenda of all depots in the country.
Raising the alarm while addressing newsmen in Warri, the body noted that there was nothing absolutely wrong with the Warri Refinery to warrant its prolonged shutting down, insisting that it was part of a grand ploy by some cabals in the oil and gas sector using the NNPC management to actualize their selfish interest.
Speaking on behalf of the body, its chairman, Mr Zino Onaemor, disclosed that the shutting down of the Warri Refinery was due to the issue of workers casualisation that was experienced in 2018, stating that before then, the refinery was running at maximum capacity and they have refunded to reopen it even has the workers dispute had been resolved.
According to him, “the refinery is not that bad as the NNPC boss, Kyari Melee is claiming. This refinery was working but they shut it down because the casual workers were not being paid, not that the refinery was bad.”
“The shut down was a deliberate scheme to kill the refinery and make it moribund ahead of the coming on stream of a certain refinery now under construction.”
While calling for the reopening of the facility, Mr Onaemor called on President Muhammadu Buhari to investigate why the NNPC had failed to reopen the facility for production one year and eight months ago after it was shut down.
“It is sad that the Warri Refinery has been down for one year and eight months; many may not be aware of this development because they see fuel around,” he said.
The chairman wondered why the facility had remained inoperative even after the problem with casual staff had been settled.
“After the company resolved the crisis with the casual workers, it refused to put on the refinery for reasons we do not know.
“I personally went to the WRPC, they said they were asked not to start operations because they want to do an integrity test, which is just for people to see if the equipment is working or not,” he said.
He said that WRPC management claimed that its failure to reopen the plant was due to an “order from above,” saying “I now ask a question that is it that you people are now trying to monopolise this business for … because he is building a refinery so all the refinery in Nigeria should be shut down?”
The IPMAN chairman wondered where NNPC and its subsidiary generate its money to pay its staff if truly the refinery is not working.
“If you know the refineries are not working, then you layoff the workers so you don’t have to source money from somewhere to pay them but because they have an agenda which Nigerians are not aware of; they keep importing fuel. Every petroleum products seen on the street today is being imported, none is being produced here.”
Onaemor said that the president’s intervention would bring the facility back on stream. “The refinery has no problem; it can be put back to work,” he said.
