IPMAN Accuses NNPC Of ‘Blocking’ Reopening Of Warri Refinery

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, (IPMAN), Delta state zone, has alleged that the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was sabotaging the nation’s refineries.

Specifically, the association alleged deliberate shut down of the Warri Refinery and Petrochemical Company (WRPC) just to give monopoly to privately owned Dangote refinery which is still under construction.

Addressing journalists at the Press Centre of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Warri Correspondents’ Chapel on Monday, IPMAN chairman in the state, Mr. Zino Onaemor, alleged that NNPC was solely responsible for the failure of the Warri refinery to come on stream.

Onaemor who was flanked by other members of the association, said that the refinery was shut down deliberately over one year and eight months ago with flimsy excuses by WRPC’s management that the reason for the closure of the facility was the face-off between it and the casual workers.

He said that against impression being created that the plant was faulty and undergoing maintenance, Onaemor said that nothing was wrong with the components of the refinery.

“The refinery is not that bad as the NNPC boss, Kyari Melee is claiming. This refinery was working but they shut it down because the casual workers were not being paid, not that the refinery was bad”.

According to him, the shut down was deliberate scheme to kill the refinery and make it moribund ahead the coming on stream of the under-construction Dangote refinery.

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While calling for the reopening of the facility, Mr. Onaemor called on President Muhammadu Buhari to investigate why the NNPC had failed to reopen the facility for production one year and eight ago after its was shut down.

“It is sad that the Warri refinery has been down for one year and eight months; many may not be aware of this development because they see fuel around,” he said.

The chairman wondered why the facility had remained inoperative even after the problem with casual staff had been settled.

“After the company resolved the crisis with the casual workers, they refused to put on the refinery for reasons we do not know.

“I personally went to the WRPC, they said they were asked not to start operations because they want to do an integrity test, which is just for people to see if the equipment is working or not,” he said.

He said that WRPC management claimed that their failure to reopen the plant was due to an “order from above”, saying “I now ask a question that is it that you people are now trying to monopolise this business for Dangote?… because Dangote is building a refinery so all the refinery in Nigeria should be shut down?

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The IPMAN chairman wondered where NNPC and its subsidiary generate its money to paid its staff if truly the refinery is not working.

“If you know the refineries are not working, then you layoff the workers so you don’t have to sourced money from somewhere to pay them but because they have an agenda which Nigerians are not aware of, they keep importing fuel. Every petroleum products seen on the street today are being imported, none is being produce here”.

Onaemor said that the President’s intervention would bring the facility back on stream. “The refinery has no problem, it can be put back to work,” he said.

All efforts to get comment from NNPC’s newly promoted Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs, Dr. Kennie Obateru, as of time of filling this report for publication proved abortive.