Government Should Forget About It, Port Harcourt, Other Refineries Are Dead – Emmanuel

A Nigerian economist, Kelvin Emmanuel, has ruled out the probability that government-owned refineries would still function in the country.

Speaking on Monday during an interview with Channels Television, the economist said government-owned refineries in Nigeria should be considered as dead assets.

Emmanuel lamented that over sixty years, the government has proven that it doesn’t have the capacity to manage the refineries.

He decried the various missed deadlines the government had given the refineries to start operation again despite the volume of money being pumped into repairs and maintenance of the facilities,

He spoke while responding to a question on the probability that petrol prices would reduce in Nigeria if government-owned refineries such as the one in Port Harcourt are brought back to life.

“Government-owned refineries died on arrival. The government over the last 60 years has not proven to have the capacity to manage its refineries.

“They are dead and are not going to come back to life. Port Harcourt refinery, a subsidiary of NNPCL, had promised deadlines—more than eight deadlines—but nothing has been heard. Maybe they will convert to a blending plant to blend off-spec petrol. The government should forget about it,” he said.

Naija News reports the Port Harcourt refinery, with a combined capacity of 250 barrels per day, has failed to come up on stream despite several promises of its commencement by the government.

Nigerians are grappling with the high price of petrol with a litre of the product currently selling above ₦1,000 across the country.