Human rights lawyer, Deji Adeyanju has said that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd have done well to restream the moribund state-owned refineries.
Adeyanju who is the founding partner of Deji Adeyanju & Partner (DAP) said the refineries will compete with the likes of the Dangote Refinery and protect Nigerians from monopoly.
The human rights lawyer said this in an open letter to President Tinubu titled, ‘Open Letter And Commendation To President Bola Tinubu On The Recent Rehabilitation Of The Port Harcourt And Warri Refineries.’
In November and December 2024, the NNPCL revived the 210,000 barrels per day Port Harcourt and the 125,000 barrels per day Warri refineries. The NNPC pledged to revive the two other refineries.
Adeyanju said the revamp of the national assets will bring down energy costs in the country.
He said, “Recently, the media was awash with news of the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries and the subsequent production of petroleum products from the Port Harcourt refinery. Following my personal confirmation of the veracity of the stories, I am compelled to publicly commend President Bola Tinubu for rehabilitating the refineries.
“At a time when Nigerians are groaning over the huge cost of petroleum products, especially PMS, it is a huge relief to observe that the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries have come back to life, with the possibility of driving competition that will ultimately bring down the prices of petroleum products across the country.”
He urged the president to block all illegal exploitation of Nigeria’s oil resources by non-state actors.
Adeyanju said, “Having taken steps to revamp the refineries, the president must go further by blocking all illegal exploitation of the nation’s oil resources by non-state actors. It is now obvious that the Nigerian Navy is overstretched and can no longer protect our oil facilities alone.
“In this light, I call on the President to direct the army to maintain an increased presence across our oil facilities and protect them from oil theft.
“While commending Mr. President for the positive steps taken on the refineries, I urge him to take urgent steps to ensure that the life of the average Nigerian is improved, in line with his campaign promises.”