President Bola Tinubu has assured Nigerians that the country’s refineries will resume operations, saying his administration is working to reset the economics of the facilities.
Tinubu spoke on Thursday when he received the leadership of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
“The refineries you mentioned are going to come back to work,” the President said.
He also expressed concern that the benefits of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) were not reaching commuters as expected, saying, “Whatever benefit is coming from CNG is going into the pockets of truck owners.”
Tinubu said the removal of fuel subsidy was necessary to reset the economy, adding that the benefits were being channelled into salaries and infrastructure.
“We had threat of possible strike, but I served notice; you may strike all you want, but fuel subsidy will be gone,” he said.
The President commended NUPENG for its cooperation with the government, describing the union as a critical partner in the economy.
He also pledged to take responsibility for fixing the country’s inherited challenges.
“I’ve accepted the assets and liabilities of my predecessors. No matter what happened in the past years, it’s my responsibility now as President to fix it and make it work for the greatest common good of our population,” Tinubu said.
Earlier, NUPENG President, Salimon Akanni Oladiti, urged the President to stop the casualisation of workers in the oil industry, particularly in the upstream sector.
“Mr President, we urge you to use your good offices to stop the casualisation of workers in our sector,” Oladiti said.
He also appealed to the Federal Government to revive the Nigerian Pipelines and Storage Company (NPSC) depots nationwide, saying their rehabilitation would complement efforts to revive the refineries.
Oladiti further commended the administration for rehabilitating federal highways and urged the government to extend the same attention to the country’s petroleum storage infrastructure.
