By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The Coalition of Niger Delta Youth On Energy Reforms and Transparency in the Oil and Gas Sector, has urged the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mele Kyari, to ensure that the Port Harcourt Refinery becomes operational before the end of September as he promised.

At a press conference jointly addressed yesterday by Barr. Dickens A. Opu and Barr. Werigbelegha Zinake, the group lamented that, despite the billions of naira that have been earmarked and disbursed for the functionality of the Port Harcourt refinery, the refining plant remains non-operational.

The group expressed concern about the energy crisis in the country caused by the non-functionality of local refineries, continued dependence on the importation of petroleum products, and the resulting cost implications for the country.

The Lawyers noted that the failure of the Mele Kyari-led management of the NNPC to revamp local refineries has further worsened the country’s energy crisis and impoverished the people of the oil-producing Niger Delta, who are forced to buy fuel at higher rates than most parts of the country.

The group alleged that the Port Harcourt refinery is being planned to be converted into a blending plant. They claim that substandard petroleum products from Russia will be mixed with chemicals and sold to the people of the Niger Delta.

The Lawyers expressed concern over the potential environmental impact of converting the Port Harcourt refinery into a blending plant. They expressed fear that this move could expose the people of the Niger Delta to harmful chemicals from environmental pollution and degradation caused by the waste products released into the environment.

The statement read: “As we may all be aware, all is not well in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria. The level of corruption is suh that if urgent steps are not taken to address the malaise, Nigeria might go into extinction.

“We say this with all sense of patriotism given the precarious situation in the economic outlook in the country. It is indeed worrisome that an oil-producing country like ours is experiencing an energy crisis occasioned by the non-functionality of our refineries and the continued dependence on the importation of petroleum products and the attendant cost implication for the country.

“It is indeed a shame that successive administrations in the country have done little or nothing to ensure the functionality of the country’s refineries. For example, despite the billions of naira that have been earmarked and disbursed for the functionality of the Port Harcourt refinery, the refining plant remains comatose.

“This is on the heels that over 2 years ago, Mele Kyari the helmsman of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited indeed promised that the Port Harcourt refinery would commence operations on several occasions. This has not happened and it has further plunged the country into an energy crisis.

“The attendant impact on the socio-economic life in the Niger Dental region can only be imagined. A situation where oil-producing communities are made to purchase fuel at a rate higher than most parts of the country is an anomaly perpetuated by the Mele Kyari-led management of the NNPCL. This is indeed a sorry tale in our quest for sustainable growth and development.

“Those behind this anomaly are indeed bent on further impoverishing the people of the Niger Delta region. The sin of the Niger Delta people as it stands with the present arrangement is that they are considered less important in the socioeconomic standing of the country even though it is an oil and gas producing region in the country, whereas citizens of the country in other parts of the country will be buying at a cheaper rate from Dangote refinery and paying far less for a better product without so many chemicals in it.

“We wish to state that we have it on good authority that the Port Harcourt refinery is being packaged to become a blending plant where substandard petroleum products from Russia will be mixed with chemicals and sold to the Niger Delta people.

“This is not only acceptable, it also shows a gross disdain for the Niger Delta people. Those in authority do not care about the negative impact of this plan on the livelihood of the Niger Delta people. The Niger Delta people would be subjected to untold hardship by paying more for petroleum products, and also the attendant consequence in other critical sectors of the Niger Delta economy.

“The economic value chain around the operations of the Port Harcourt refinery would be greatly disrupted and bring about a regime of hopelessness and the resort to crime and criminality to make ends meet. Let us not forget that the level of crime and criminality of proportional to the economic standing of the people.

“The move by the Mele Kyari led NNPCL to convert the Port Harcourt refinery into a blending plant for substandard petroleum products from Russia and other European destinations comes with the attendant health implications for the people of the region.

“The people would indeed be exposed to harmful chemicals from environmental pollution and degradation from the waste products that would be released into the environment as a consequence.

“The rot in the administration of the oil and gas sector in Nigeria is phenomenal. The Mele Kyari-led NNPCL has taken the lack of transparency and accountability to another height. The country has lost huge revenues to the activities of the cartel that is aided and abetted by the Mele Kyari-led NNPCL. We are tempted to say that the Niger Delta people have been slated for extinction.

“The Coalition of Niger Delta Youth On Energy Reforms and Transparency in the oil and Gas Sector frowns at such a disposition which is a dangerous trend that must be halted and addressed with a sense of urgency. The Niger Delta people are an important contributor to the revenue generation of the country and as such it must not be treated with disdain and levity.

“We are therefore calling on the federal government to look into the plight of the Niger Delta people and do all that is necessary to improve the lot of the people through the entrenchment of transparency and accountability in the administration of the oil and gas sector in the country. The first step in this regard is to ensure the full functionality of the Port Harcourt refinery and other refineries in the country.

“The second step is to institute reforms the administration of the oil and gas sector in the country with emphasis on the oil and gas-producing communities that are home to the major source of revenue for the country. The third step is to institute a probe into the administration of the oil and gas sector by the Mele Kyari-led NNPCL.

“We are calling on the relevant authorities to urgently address the lingering issues in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria. The socioeconomic outlook of the country is worrisome and the country does not have the luxury of time as the situation in the country is getting grimmer by the day.

“The time to act is now and it is our firm belief that the relevant authorities would act in the best interest of the Niger Delta people and the country at large.”