President Bola Tinubu on Thursday assured the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, that Nigeria’s refineries will be revived and run profitably under his administration.
The President gave the assurance when he received the NUPENG leadership at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, describing the union as a critical partner in the country’s energy sector.
“The refineries that you mentioned is going to come back to work,” Tinubu said. “Ordinary flame and the smoke of refinery doesn’t mean that it’s working until it’s profitable and it yields the value for which it is built.”
Tinubu said he had accepted both the assets and liabilities inherited from previous administrations and would not dwell on the past.
“I’m not a man who will look back on everything because I’ve accepted the asset and liability of my predecessors. No matter what has happened in years past, it’s my responsibility now as the President to fix it, make it work for the largest common value of our population,” he said.
The President recalled pre-election engagements with labour unions on petrol subsidy removal, noting that the decision had freed resources for infrastructure and other critical sectors.
He listed some of the projects government is targeting with the savings to include the Lagos-Badagry Road, Abuja-Kaduna, Abuja-Kano and Sokoto-Badagry highways.
Tinubu also urged NUPENG to help ensure that the benefits of the Federal Government’s Compressed Natural Gas, CNG, initiative trickle down to ordinary Nigerians.
“Whatever benefit that is coming from CNG is going to the pockets of truck owners. It’s not spreading as fast as I would like it, but it should spread,” he said.
The President thanked the union for its cooperation and called on Nigerians to continue supporting democracy, saying the pains of current reforms would eventually yield results.
“You will enjoy better Nigeria,” Tinubu told the NUPENG delegation.
NUPENG leaders at the meeting reaffirmed the union’s commitment to partnering with government to stabilize the petroleum sector and protect workers’ interests.
