President Bola Tinubu has renewed his administration’s commitment to reviving Nigeria’s long-idle state-owned refineries, but made it clear that simply restarting the plants will not be enough. Speaking at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Thursday, Tinubu said the refineries would return to operation as part of his government’s broader economic reset, stressing that success would ultimately be measured by productivity and profitability rather than activity alone. “Ordinary flame and smoke of a refinery doesn’t mean it’s working,” the President said, arguing that the facilities must generate the value they were originally built to provide.
The President also called for Nigerians to see greater benefits from the transition to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), particularly in the transport sector. He urged owners of CNG-converted vehicles and trucks to pass the savings from lower fuel costs on to commuters instead of keeping the entire benefit. Tinubu said his administration would continue to support the initiative but expected the cost reductions to reach ordinary Nigerians more quickly, especially passengers who depend on commercial transport every day.
Tinubu linked the refinery revival and CNG reforms to the wider economic changes his administration has pursued since taking office in 2023. He pointed to funding for major road projects, including the Lagos-Ibadan, Abuja-Kaduna and Abuja-Kano roads, as evidence of what he described as the benefits of the government’s fiscal reforms. He also defended the removal of petrol subsidies, maintaining that the policy was necessary to reset the economy and promising to publish details on how the resulting funds have been utilised. The President said he had accepted responsibility for both the challenges and assets inherited from previous administrations and was determined to fix the economy.
The meeting also brought fresh concerns from the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), particularly over the treatment of workers in the upstream oil and gas sector. NUPENG President Salimon Oladiti called on Tinubu to tackle the persistent practice of casualisation, saying previous engagements with some oil companies had failed to produce meaningful change. The union also urged the government to extend the refinery revival programme to ageing petroleum depots across the country, recommending private-sector participation through equity arrangements. Oladiti further appealed for stronger enforcement of local government financial autonomy following the Supreme Court’s ruling on the issue.
For Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, the President’s latest pledge places renewed attention on whether the country’s refineries can finally move from years of promises to sustainable production. Tinubu insisted that his administration would remain focused on delivering tangible economic value despite the difficulties of governance, appealing to workers and other stakeholders for continued cooperation. As Nigerians continue to grapple with fuel costs and wider economic pressures, the real test of the refinery revival will be whether the plants can operate efficiently, remain profitable and ultimately reduce the country’s dependence on imported petroleum products.
source: punch
