The Labour Party has vehemently refuted the reported ‘mechanical completion’ and ‘flare start-off’ of the Port Harcourt refinery, Nigeria’s largest crude refinery. The Federal Government’s announcement of near-completion through Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, faced sharp criticism from the Labour Party, claiming it to be a deceptive move orchestrated by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The Port Harcourt refinery, with a combined refining capacity of 210,000 barrels per day, comprises an old plant producing 60,000 barrels per day and a new facility contributing 150,000 bpd. However, the Labour Party, in an exclusive conversation with our correspondent, expressed skepticism about the authenticity of the reported progress.
Yunusa Tanko, Chief Spokesman for the Labour Party Campaign Organisation, accused the APC government of staging the reported flare start-off. Tanko contended that the gas flaring was an attempt to deceive the Nigerian people, asserting that no oil had been produced despite the reported mechanical completion.
“We hear that they have completed the mechanical works. This particular gas flare in Port Harcourt refinery is a deceit. It is another lie to deceive the Nigerian people,” Tanko claimed.
“They have not been able to work on that refinery conclusively. It is a lie. If they are sure about the fact, let them prove us wrong.”
In response, Deputy National Organising Secretary of the APC, Nze Chidi Duru, clarified that the Port Harcourt refinery operation is a privately funded project, dissociating it from the Federal Government’s direct involvement. Duru urged opposition parties, including the Labour Party, to engage in constructive criticisms and avoid politicizing issues, emphasizing the private sector’s leading role in the refinery initiative.
“It (refinery) is working and functional. But it has nothing to do with the government because it is a private sector-led initiative,” Duru stated. “It is not everything we should play politics with in this country. It is a private sector-led initiative.”
Related: NNPCL Commences Crude Oil Supply, Set to Test-Run Port Harcourt Refinery
As the debate intensifies, the authenticity of the Port Harcourt refinery’s reported progress remains a contentious issue, with political parties engaging in a war of words over the credibility of the project.