Oil subsidy removal: Refinery investor urges support for FG, sees future benefits

Omotayo Adebajo, chief executive officer, of African Refinery Port Harcourt Limited, has urged Nigerians to support the federal government and also see the benefits of oil subsidy removal.

Adebajo whose firm is a joint venture partner with Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited in the 100,000 barrels per day refinery being developed within the Port Harcourt refinery complex, also calls on Nigerians to be patient in the face of the immediate hardship caused by the subsidy removal and to see the bigger picture in the government’s decision which, in his opinion, has been long overdue.

“Though the subsidy removal has resulted in higher pump prices, we strongly believe that, in the long run, the government’s action will boost investment in local refinery capacity in addition to the short-term benefits that subsidy removal will free up money that can be immediately channelled into high impact projects that would benefit a vast majority of Nigerians,” Adebajo said.

He called on President Bola Tinubu to treat governance as a continuum by deepening the previous government’s commitment to supporting local refinery projects made by Buhari through NNPC Limited’s strategic equity investment in African Refinery’s 100kbd project in Port Harcourt and in the recently commissioned Dangote Refinery in Lagos.

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He noted that these projects were critical to Nigeria’s drive to stop the importation of fuel and guarantee energy security, adding that the projects could only succeed with the continued support of the government.

He, therefore, stressed his earlier call on the new government to continue to support private sector investors, especially in the area of access to feedstock and government-backed low-interest finance.

Adebajo assured that his company’s refinery project was on track and would be completed during the tenure of the new administration, hoping that it would significantly increase local production of refined petroleum products whilst safeguarding a more competitive market of multiple producers located in more than one geographical region of the country.

He expected that his would, alongside similar projects, help in finally positioning Nigeria as a net exporter of petroleum and petrochemical products and commodities.

He disclosed that the company has commenced Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) activities, which marks a significant and critical milestone towards realizing the vision of the refinery. He also disclosed that a team of foreign experts and consultants would be in Nigeria this month (June) to conduct critical surveys and to hold meetings with our partners and other industry stakeholders.

Adebajo assured of African Refinery’s full support for the removal of all petroleum subsidies, believing that this bold action was the first critical step towards Nigeria’s brighter and more prosperous future.