The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas has called for the privatisation of oil refineries in the country to address the perennial crisis bedeviling the oil sector.
The Speaker made the recommendation on Thursday while playing host to top management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited led by the Group Managing Director, Mr Mele Kyari in Abuja.

While describing the state of the refineries as shameful, Abbas added that NNPCL workers’ work hours in the last 20 years could be less than a month, yet they get paid, promoted, and cared for.

He said, “There is a need to make these refineries have multi-dimensional uses. If there is no crude oil, are there other activities that can make the workers active so that what they earn is deserved? I need you and your management to look at how we can turn around this decade of losses;

“One way to do so is to find a way to privatize these refineries. We have spent so much money and time deceiving ourselves that some businesses can be run by the government.

“In the case of the refineries, we have now realised that some sectors of NNPCL business can only be handled by the private sector and our refineries are one of those.

“The inadequacies will become manifest as soon as Dangote’s refinery comes on board because the competition will be there and inefficiencies of the refineries will become more naked.

“I want you to put it as part of your cardinal objectives ways to privatise our refineries so that they can be active. In the near future, they will be able to compete with new refineries that will come up,” he said.

Abbas said that the NNPCL is central to the economic development of Nigeria pledging the commitment of the house to supporting the company to succeed.

According to him, the House is concerned about the high rate of oil theft, saying it is draining revenue, affecting forex availability, and causing inflation in the country.

The Speaker maintained that the House had inaugurated a special committee on oil theft to interface with stakeholders with a view to addressing oil theft in the country.

Earlier, Kyari said that all refineries will become fully operational, saying the country will become a net exporter of petroleum products by the end of 2024.

He blamed petroleum subsidy for inactive refineries in Nigeria over the years, stressing that the removal of subsidy is already attracting a lot of private sector investments.

“I can confirm to you that by the end of December this year, we will start the Port Harcourt refinery; early in the first quarter of 2024, we will start the Warri refinery and by the end of 2024, the Kaduna refinery will come into operation.

“This is the commitment we are giving today and you can hold us accountable for this. In 2024, many of the initiatives including the rehabilitation of our refineries and also the efforts of small-scale refineries, and the upcoming startup of the Dangote refinery, will make Nigeria the next exporter of petroleum products in 2024.

“We will no longer be talking about fuel importation by the end of 2024. I am very optimistic that this will crystalise,” he said.

Kyari pledged that by the end of 2023, the expected government revenue from the will hit N4.5trn saying that NNPCL is returning value to shareholders in compliance with the Petroleum Industry Act.