• Nigeria has four refineries, two in Port Harcourt and one each in Warri and Kaduna.
The President said he was undertaking a structural and economic reset to ensure the facilities do not merely operate but deliver value to Nigerians.
The President gave the assurance at the State House, Abuja, when he received the newly elected leadership of Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), led by its Executive President Salimon Oladiti.
President Tinubu, who was conferred with the Grand Patron of NUPENG title by the union, said his administration had accepted responsibility for fixing the country’s refineries and would not blame previous governments for their current condition.
He told his guests: “The refineries that you mentioned are going to come back to work. We’re just building a very firm reset and structural reworking of the economy of it. Ordinary flame and smoke of refinery doesn’t mean that it’s working until it’s profitable and yield the value for which it is built.
“I’ve accepted the asset and liability of my predecessors, no matter what has happened in the years past, it’s my responsibility now as the president to fix, make it work for the largest common value of our population. I take responsibility for that, and I’m going to do it.”
The assurance by President marks a definitive redirection for the nation’s refineries.
Up till now, Nigeria has four refineries, two in Port Harcourt and one each in Warri and Kaduna.
For many years the refineries have not worked, except for a brief period when they word for a short while.
Recently, the Nigeria National Petroleum Cooperation Limited (NNPCL ) signed an agreement with Chinese firm to fix the refineries and operate them on its behalf.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, whose administration sold the refineries as scraps to a consortium of investors, has repeatedly said the refineries are irredeemable and obsolete.
Obasanjo said his personal opinion and his government’s decision on the refineries were based on a conclusive experts’ report, which was commissioned by his government.
Former President Umaru Yar’ Adua cancelled the sale of the refineries. Former Presidents Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari spent billions of naira on turnaround maintenance of the refineries, but they remain unproductive.
President Tinubu described NUPENG as a critical stakeholder in the nation’s economy and commended the union for its partnership with successive governments as well as its cooperation with his administration’s economic reforms.
Recalling his engagement with the union ahead of the 2023 presidential election, the President said he had been forthright about his determination to remove the petrol subsidy despite the possibility of resistance and industrial action.
Tinubu said: “And you’ve been a very good partner of government in progress. You occupy a very critical nerve of the economy of this country, and I’m glad you recalled the Akodo Resort.
“Akodo is now one of the greatest economic values to this country, and all the things that we contemplated and did together, that is why it was important, when I was running for this office, to serve you as a very important notice of what I would do and it was very very friendly and frank discussion.
“We had threat of possible strike and something, and I served notice; you may strike all you want, but fuel subsidy will be gone. And today, to the benefit of our great country.”
He said the government would soon make public details of the utilisation of resources accruing from the removal of the subsidy, arguing that the policy had strengthened the capacity of the three tiers of government to meet obligations and undertake development projects.
Tinubu challenged arguments that the reform had not benefited ordinary Nigerians, pointing to the regular payment of salaries to workers at the federal, state and local government levels and the wider impact of government spending on economic activities.
The president said: “I will soon publish the utilization of what it is. But I listen to people… they say common man and all of that. Who are the people receiving the salaries in the local government administration? Are they not common men and women receiving salary regularly at the state level, are they not common man and woman?
“The ordinary people receiving salaries from the federal government regularly, and it affects all the market women around us, including your wives.”
He acknowledged the difficulties associated with economic reforms, describing the process as a complex exercise in financial re-engineering and economic reset.
The president said: “Yes, the economy is not a child’s play. It’s a system of financial reengineering and reset, and I want to thank you for the cooperation, collaboration, and understanding.”
He said the reforms had enhanced government’s ability to fund major long-term projects, citing the Lagos-Ibadan, Abuja-Kaduna and Abuja-Kano roads as well as the Sokoto-Badagry highway and other road networks.
According to him, the projects are aimed at strengthening the economy, improving connectivity and enhancing the safety of Nigerians.
“I’m glad you have seen the effect of being able to find funding for long-term projects; Lagos-Ibadan Road, Abuja-Kaduna, Abuja-Kano, and Sokoto-Badagri and the highways and many other road network, it’s all for the good of all of us and the good of our economy and the safety of our people,” Tinubu said.
He also highlighted the introduction of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as part of measures to provide cheaper alternatives to petrol and reduce transportation costs.
The President, however, expressed concern that the savings from CNG were not being passed quickly enough to commuters, urging transport operators and drivers to ensure that Nigerians benefit from lower operating costs.
“Equally, the introduction of compressed natural gas. Well, I will appeal to you, we will do more. We will encourage you, but ask your drivers to let it trickle to the commuters too, because whatever benefit that is coming from CNG is going to the pocket of truck owners. It’s not spreading as fast as I would like it, but it should spread,” Tinubu said.
He thanked NUPENG for recognising the partnership between organised labour and government and urged its leadership and members to continue working with the administration to strengthen Nigeria’s democracy and economy.
Tinubu described democracy as a system that guarantees freedom and opportunity, saying Nigerians must work collectively to preserve it despite the challenges associated with democratic governance.
“Thank you for your recognition of partnership and effort that you are making, and I will just still appeal to all of you to let us work diligently and passionately on this democracy.
“You all worked together with us to bring about the democracy, democracy is about celebration of freedom and opportunity that must be cherished by all of us,” Tinubu said.
He acknowledged that managing a democratic government was difficult, but said perseverance, endurance and determination would ultimately produce a better country.
Oladiti appealed to the President to intervene in what he described as the growing casualisation of workers, particularly in the upstream oil and gas industry.
He said NUPENG and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) had exercised restraint despite the practice because of the strategic importance of the sector and the potentially damaging impact of industrial action on the economy.
“Your Excellency, our relationship with the International Oil Companies and the indigenous players in the upstream sector has been very cordial.
“However, we want to seize this opportunity to bring to your attention an unhealthy trend we have been trying to correct with little to no success. It is the casualisation of workers, particularly in the upstream sector.”
“For a sector that is strategic and taken as the economic jugular of the nation, NUPENG and its counterpart, the PENGASSAN have been tolerating these unwholesome practices, knowing full well the enormous disruption that any industrial actions could cause to the economy,” Oladiti said.
He said the union had engaged the management of some affected companies without the desired results, although he acknowledged the support and open-door policy of the Minister of Labour, Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi.
“We have engaged the management of some of the affected companies without results. Mr. President, we urge you to use your good offices to stop casualisation of workers in our sector,” Oladiti said.
He also commended the Tinubu administration for the rehabilitation and dualisation of federal highways, saying improved roads had made journeys safer for petroleum tanker drivers and reduced the risks of accidents, product spillages and loss of lives.
The NUPENG boss said: “We’ve seen real progress in the rehabilitation of federal highways, making journeys safer for our tanker drivers.
“Mr. President, your administration has turned federal highways into massive construction sites. We must not fail to mention the ongoing, unprecedented projects, 750-kilometer, six lane Lagos-Coastal Highway and the 1,068-kilometre Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway that will traverse seven states in the country.”
According to him, the state of Nigerian roads has direct consequences for the lives and livelihoods of NUPENG members.
“For our members, a good road is the difference between arriving home safely and never arriving at all. Every stretch of highway rehabilitated or constructed, means fewer accidents, fewer spillages, fewer lives lost, and lesser stress for the men behind the wheel. Mr. President, that is a reform our members feel in their bones, and for it we say thank you,” Oladiti said.
He further commended the administration’s move to revive the Warri and Port Harcourt refineries through partnerships with Chinese firms, but urged the government to extend the effort to the Nigerian Pipelines and Storage Company (NPSC) depots across the country.
He argued that rehabilitating the depots would complement efforts to restore the refineries and strengthen petroleum products distribution.
Oladiti said: “We also want to commend your administration’s move to revive the Warri and Port Harcourt refineries through partnership with Chinese firms.
“Your Excellency, we want to humbly request that the same energy and drive to inject life back to the refineries be extended to the decaying Nigerian Pipelines and Storage Company (NPSC) depots of country.
“We strongly recommend they can be handed over to private investors to manage under an equity arrangement.”
He also urged the President to promote grassroots development by ensuring that state governments comply with the Supreme Court judgment granting financial autonomy to local governments.
The NUPENG leadership subsequently conferred on Tinubu the award of Grand Patron of the union in recognition of what it described as his relationship and partnership with petroleum and natural gas workers.
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, who attended the meeting, welcomed the growing partnership between the Federal Government and labour unions, saying dialogue was increasingly replacing confrontation in government-labour relations.
“We know that in the future more and more of unions like this, the period of the altercation we used to have between unions and government is gradually being closed and we thank them for this recognition of the efforts of Mr. President, ” the minister said.
