News
SCAM! NNPCL lying! Not a drop of fuel from PH refinery – community
Some smart alecs at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited are playing a fast one on the country with the claim that the old Port Harcourt refinery is now producing 70 per cent of petrol, the host community said on Thursday alleging that not a single drop of the product is coming out of the facility.
In fact, contrary to the further claim by the company that several trucks loaded with Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, left the facility on Tuesday, only six of such trucks were actually loaded, but with products from the old stock as opposed to the ones it claimed the facility produced after its rehabilitation.
On Tuesday, the NNPCL, released a statement claiming that the facility, had reached 70 per cent production capacity with the move to ramp it up to 90 soon, a feat, which was commended immediately by President Bola Tinubu, who paid special tribute to Muhammadu Buhari, who secured the loan with which it was rehabilitated.
Urging the company to also perform the same feat with the Warri and Kaduna refineries, owned by the Federal Government, a totally upbeat Tinubu, who conveyed his sentiments through Bayo Onanuga, said: “These efforts will significantly enhance domestic production capacity alongside the contributions of privately-owned refineries and make our country a major energy hub, with the gas sector also enjoying unprecedented attention by the administration.”
But against the clapback by the NNPCL that Nigerians should disregard those disclaiming its position, the Alesa host community in the Rivers State capital, maintained on Thursday that nothing could be farther to the truth, insisting that Nigerians were being scammed by officials of the company, as there was nothing on ground to justify any serious activities at the refinery.
Explaining that the community would be the first to celebrate any such feat, given its positive economic implications to the people, Timothy Mgbesa, Secretary of Alesa Community Stakeholders said it was not true that the NNPCL was producing 1.4million litres per day, adding it was unfair to Nigeria for such false claims to be made.
Igbere, a guest of The Morning Show, a breakfast programme on Arise News Television, was emphatic that the entire exercise was about manipulation of Nigerians to believe that something was going on when even the foreign company which was engage to turn around the facility was nowhere in sight, leading to an almost zero activities.
He said: “For an agency that is holding the oil industry in trust for Nigeria, they shouldn’t put out some of these information that are not true. What happened on Tuesday is that the NNPCL is under pressure and went out to tell Nigerians that the old refinery has started working. I can tell you that the GMD or the CEO was in Port Harcourt since Monday. The other MDs were also in Port Harcourt.
“The MD of Port Harcourt Refinery and the those heading the operations department, they didn’t sleep throughout Monday because of these whole events they had on Tuesday. What was the true picture? The old refinery is built with its own utilities, different from the new Port Harcourt Refinery. In terms of tank farms, the tank farm of serving the old Port Harcourt Refinery has a different loading gantry at the depot.
“The party that was held on Tuesday, was held at the new loading gantry that is directly connected to the new refinery. How does that work? It is impossible. They went there because the storage facility for the old refinery had some old stock that has been there for over three years. So, what they had, they released that stock, loaded six trucks and then televised it to Nigerians that that is the production from the old Port Harcourt Refinery.
“That is not true. I like Nigerians to know the truth. But they don’t need to believe me, because Nigerians, no matter how you paint the true pictures to them, they get sentimental, they get tribal, they want to whip up sentiments and all that. The product that was loaded – and let me be on record that it was only six trucks and it was not the new refined products from the old refinery.
“Let me shock you, if we’re celebrating that the Port Harcourt Refinery is already functional, how come they loaded only four trucks of the product? The whole day starting from 7am that worked resumed at the old Port Harcourt Refinery, it was only four trucks that were loaded till about 8.35 – only four trucks.
“Yet, they said it was automated. How can you have a truck under a bay for more than six hours under an automated system? Back in the years when we had manual system, it didn’t take more than 45minutes to load one truck. You can ask from any operational staff or any person that has been at the depot area.
“Manual system loads a truck for about 45 minutes. So, fully automated, fully rehabilitated – and then you tell us it’s 70 per cent operational – and then you tell us you’re loading four trucks for a whole day under the loading gantry for more than six to seven hours. Who are we deceiving? I think that’s a clear picture of the whole event at the Port Harcourt depot and by extension, the Port Harcourt Refinery.”
Nick Agule, an energy expert, who also spoke on the development toed the same line, said the issue was with the lack of transparency on the part of NNPCL, saying the company needed to do more in opening up its operation to Nigerians who were actually their employers, adding that it would not be a bad idea for the company to take reporters on tour of the facility to get a first-hand working of the facility.
He said: “This refinery NNPC is running is owned by Nigerians. We are the owners of this asset and NNPCL is our servant. They are our workers and they have to report back to us in the most transparent way the situation with this refinery, not only the Port Harcourt refinery, but with the three others. I can say that this is not happening.
“First and foremost, the statement that was issued by the NNPCL announcing the commencement of production at the old refinery, did not carry anything. It was that production had started and that was it. It was when the controversy started to be generated on social media and other platforms that NNPCL issued a second statement and in this statement, they provided more data.
“The point here is why did they not able to mention to us the owners of this refinery. Why did they have to wait for this controversy to be generated before they gave us additional data. So, I will say that as it stands now, Nigerians are right in doubting. Nigerians are correct and I believe we’re being pragmatic if the NNPCL is not coming across to them in the way they desire.”
Fuel marketers across Abuja on Wednesday continued to sell Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol, at old prices more than 24 hours after Dangote Petroleum Refinery announced a reduction in its ex-depot price, Vanguard is reporting.
The paper reported that its investigation, showed that major retail outlets were yet to adjust their pump prices despite the N75 per litre reduction announced by the refinery on Monday.
At the retail stations visited in Abuja, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Retail and TotalEnergies dispensed petrol at N1,335 per litre, while AA Rano sold at N1,350 per litre. AYM Shafa and Conoil outlets sold the product at N1,330 per litre.
The development comes amid growing public expectations that the reduction in Dangote Refinery’s gantry price would quickly translate into lower pump prices nationwide.
Explaining the delay, the President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Dr. Billy Gillis-Harry, said retail prices are influenced by several factors beyond refinery gate prices.
Speaking to Channels TV, Gillis-Harry said: “Prices reflecting at the pump are dependent on availability of the product, the other is the cost. The cost of purchasing the product and cost in terms of logistics, and preparing the particular petroleum to be delivered to the people”.
According to him, downward price adjustments often take longer to reach consumers because marketers need to recover the cost of existing stock purchased at higher prices before restocking at lower rates.
When asked why increases in fuel prices are usually reflected immediately while reductions are delayed, Gillis-Harry said the dynamics of supply management play a significant role.
He explained: “It is mainly affected by whether the producer has additional resources or not at the time. Increases in prices are mainly caused by the need to restock. There must be that advantage pushing the price upward to be able to pay for new supplies.”
He further acknowledged that marketers generally seek to exhaust existing inventory before implementing lower prices.
“That’s the basic idea. But in petroleum, a mixture is involved, and loss is taken, though not in a way that affects the capital needed to restock,” he added.
Also speaking on the issue, energy analyst Olabode Sowunmi said fuel pricing in Nigeria is influenced by a combination of domestic supply arrangements and logistics costs, rather than crude oil prices alone.
He noted that although international crude oil prices remain an important factor globally, their impact on local petrol pricing is not always direct.
“Global price of crude oil is a factor internationally and not necessarily in Nigeria,” Sowunmi said.
Explaining that Dangote Refinery operates under arrangements that allow a portion of crude supply to be priced in naira, reducing the direct impact of international market fluctuations on local fuel prices, he said: “So basically the issue will have to be from the point of refinery to where it touches the final person. Logistics costs within the domestic supply chain remain a major determinant of the final pump price paid by consumers.”
Peter Obi, candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has given assignment to Nigerians to put all those aspiring to take up political positions in the country through the grill to ascertain their level of integrity, saying it was required as a sine qua non for the job they seek.
Obi, who has been a subject of discussion in the polity since the allegation of corruption was levied against him by Kenneth Okonkwo, spokesman of his campaign in 2023, over the conduct of the party’s primaries to choose candidates for the 2027 general elections, said the grilling must start with his own person.
A guest in an interview on a podcast with Rufai Oseni, a popular television anchor, the former Governor of Anambra State, stated that it was actually for this reason that he had now sworn to see the litigation he instituted against Okonkwo through.
His take is that the Nollywood actor should use the courtrooms to give all the details of bad behaviour, following his threat to expose him fully, after alleging that he was collecting money from aspirants in the said election for electoral favours.
Hear him: “The issue of taking Kenneth Okonkwo to court wouldn’t have arisen if he had stopped at those allegations. But he claimed he still has more he would expose about me in the future. So, I am very happy to take him to court so that he can expose me publicly, alongside other Nigerians. If any of them has any criminal allegations against me, they should bring them to court.
“Not just Kenneth, everybody should now say those things they know that is bad about me or I did that is wrong because it’s good for the system, it’s good for the society,” Obi said.
“So, if you know that when we were in primary school, this man was cheating or didn’t go to the primary school, didn’t go to secondary school, didn’t do, if you know this man has done something criminal somewhere, this is time to bring it up.”
For the umpteenth time, Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has warned about the dangerous implication of using state institutions, particularly the judiciary to destroy Nigeria’s democracy, saying it is an ill-wind that blows nobody any good.
Atiku, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), speaking on the heels of Tuesday’s verdict of the Court of Appeal, halting the de-registration order by the Federal High Court, insisted that judicial officers must not lend themselves to any act capable of undermining the nation’s democratic process.
The appellate court had ordered a stay of execution on the order made on Monday by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court Abuja, for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the ADC alongside four other political parties).
A totally scandalised Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, had taken umbrage, sparing no hard words in upbraiding the lower court judge, stating that his likes were unfit to sit on the bench.
In a unanimous ruling by a three-man panel, the court held that Lifu’s action was “the highest form of judicial impertinence”, stressing that the Supreme Court previously held that a judge who acted in such a manner.
Describing his conduct as the height of judicial rascality, the upper court, stated: “Courts are enjoined to protect their integrity. This Court has supervisory authority over the trial court.
“The decision of the lower court to proceed with the judgment despite the express order of this court is a brazen violation of the hierarchy of the court and the 1999 Constitution.
This court has the duty to invoke its powers in ensuring that its orders are obeyed. The application for a stay of execution is here yet granted. The enforcement of the judgment is stayed.”
Atiku, who hailed the position of the higher court, which restored his hope to be on the ballot as presidential candidate in the 2027 election, also noted the role of INEC as “significant.”
He said: “I welcome the Court of Appeal’s decision to stay the execution of the Federal High Court judgement seeking the deregistration of our great party, the ADC, and four other political parties. It is particularly significant that INEC itself initiated the application for the stay.
“The development reflects growing public concern over judicial contradictions and politically charged rulings within the judiciary. “Any attempt to undermine Nigeria’s hard-won democracy through judicial manipulation is a grave danger to the Republic. If our democracy suffers further injury, history will demand accountability from those entrusted with dispensing justice.
Outside ADC, Lifu’s order, also included: Action Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), similarly slammed for allegedly failing to meet the constitutional requirements for continued registration and participation in elections.
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