A government doesn’t do bad things all the time. The media and the people would be really vocal when an administration does something inimical to the development of the country, or their individual development. But President Bola Tinubu has done something that is worthy of commendation and Nigerians shouldn’t hesitate to applaud him.
That Nigeria can now boast of three functional refineries within a year is something that is beyond comprehension of the people of the country considering how much fund, time and resources that have been expended on the refineries, notably those that belong to the country. Successive administrations failed to resurrect the refineries at Port Harcourt, Rivers State and Warri in Delta State.
The administration of former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umar Musa Yar’adua, Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari failed woefully to let any of the refineries work. Buhari did some work which only showed after he had left the office. Yet, it’s a known fact that the refineries were all moribund throughout their governments.
But President Bola Tinubu has spent less than two years and three refineries are working and producing. Two of the refineries (in Port Harcourt and Warri) rose their feet again to the happiness of millions of Nigerians. There was no hope for them before Tinubu came on board to steer the affairs of the country. The privately owned Dangote Refinery faced a number of hurdles. The cabals in the oil worked futilely to frustrate the Lekki-based refinery.
The Warri refinery is not producing petroleum at this moment. It is producing diesel and kerosene, both of which are far more expensive than Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol. Yet it’s a good development, which Tinubu wasted no time to celebrate. The announcement of commencement of work at the refinery in Warri could be regarded as the best to happen to Nigeria in December. The president was in Lagos when the NNPC Limited broke the news.
Granted that Tinubu hurriedly removed subsidy on petroleum and Nigerians are feeling the effects, the administration has still done well by doing what it can to bring down the pump price through the refineries.
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