Tinubu Rebukes Obasanjo Over Comments On PH Refinery

Eko Hot Blog reports that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has rebuked former President Olusegun Obasanjo over his comments on the petroleum refinery in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Obasanjo had said that the nation’s refineries would never function efficiently as long as they remained under government ownership.

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“Someone told me Tinubu said refineries would work by December. I told the person the refineries would not work. This is based on the information I received from Shell when I was president,” Obasanjo had said.

Tinubu, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Tope Ajayi, said Obasanjo is not an engineer and should not make such comments.

“Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, with due respect to him, is not an engineer. He’s not the engineer working at the refineries. So, the engineers and the NNPC gave the president a report and they have said that it will work by December this year,” Ajayi said.

“We still have like four months to go. I will say that with all due respect to the former president, who is an elder statesman and our father, that what he said is his personal opinion and view. I will rather rely on the judgment of the engineers who are working at the refinery. So, I think we should wait until December.”

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In August, Tinubu had said the petroleum refinery in Port Harcourt will start production by December 2023 after the completion of the ongoing rehabilitation contract between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and Italian firm, Maire Tecnimont SpA.

The Nigerian government has said that it is committed to rehabilitating the refineries and making them operational. However, it remains to be seen whether the refineries will be able to meet the country’s demand for petroleum products.

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