The Mayor of Urhoboland and Head, Association of Urhobo Mayoral Family Crown, AUMFC, has berated those attacking the Chief Group Executive Officer, CGEO of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, Engr Mele Kyari over issues surrounding the Port Harcourt refinery.
He noted that the recent attacks on Kyari’s office and person were due to what he described as misinformation occasioned by the pause in the loading of petroleum products due to procedural resumption of full operations in the newly 150, 000 barrels/day.
He said Kyari’s critics are either ignorant or hasty in their knocks on the management of the NNPCL or are deliberately mischievious and chose to remain blind to the processes involved in kickstarting a newly rehabilited plant that was shut down since 2019.
According to the Mayor in a statement he released at his Mayorial Palace in Ughelli, Delta State, well-meaning Nigerians who are knowledgeable understand that opening an abandoned plant must follow a full process of emptying the ‘dead products’, cleaning the plant before new liquid is pumped into it to avoid sediments and other impurities.
He said but for deliberate misunderstanding of the process, those he described as agents of fifth columnists were at haste seeking a straw to blackmail the system particularly the Kyari-led NNPCL.
The fifth columnists and paranoid election failures, according to him, do not wish Kyari and the government as represented by the NNPCL a success so that the refineries in the country could remain their tool for blackmail.
On the contrary, the NNPCL led by Kyari, Akpodoro noted, has beaten “reactionary elements who are enemies of Nigeria” to their game.
He stated that barring any unforseen circumstances in mind, in no time, the Port Harcourt refinery will commence full operations while others like the Warri Petrochemical Company Limited, will commence operations to put paid to the works of pessimists who are quick to condemn the country and its leaders.
Recall that, the refinery in Port Harcourt which was hitherto a 65,000 barrel/day plant has been expanded by the All Progressives Congress, APC-led administration with increased capacity of 150,000 barrels/day.
The NNPCL did a test run of the facility last week followed by the cleaning of the plant preparatory for full operation.
The Mayor called on ‘fault-finders’ to allow the Port Harcourt plant to commence operations and should stop wishing it doesn’t work saying the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration has demonstrated sufficient managerial savvy and has been able to achieve success where others failed.
He challenged those he described as naysayers to call out the head of the previous administration who mortgaged Nigeria’s crude upfront of two years and collected the proceeds without any meaningful progress to commensurate the resources sunk into the repairs of the plant.
Some persons, according to the Mayor, have found occupation in calling out Kyari’s management at every given opportunity without any proof of wrongdoing.
This category of Nigerians are under the illusion that the only patriotic thing to do is to condemn and not encourage the government.
“For us, we are solidly behind the efforts being made by the current administration to revamp our moribund refineries and we expect a glut of the petroleum products soon in the country.
“We encourage the administration and the government of Nigeria in all its efforts to renew the hope of Nigerians.
“Pointedly, we support the ongoing efforts at reforming the country’s tax administration. This will bring succour to the masses of our country.
“I commend President Bola Tinubu who is working day and night to reposition the nation’s economy even though some recalcitrants are bent on scuttling the novel ideas of a new tax regime.
“I have studied the tax reform bill and concluded that, it is the way to go at this time of our national rebirth. This administration means well and it is best thing to happen to our nation since independence.
“Our value system as a people paticularly that of dependent on government for everything without contributing to the growth and development of our country is gradually being eroded.
“No more waste, Nigerians are being taught by our economic realities to live within their means and work harder to face the realities of austerity measure. It is the best,” the Urhobo-born Mayor stated.
