By Adaobi Rhema Oguejiofor
The Independent Petrol Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has criticized the Minister of State for Petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva, over his failure to complete the Port Harcourt refinery after repeated assurances.
Sylva, while speaking at a seminar in Abuja recently, had said that the refinery would be ready before the end of the second quarter of 2023. However, the Chairman of IPMAN in Rivers State, Dr. Joseph Obele, in a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Thursday, said the assurances of the Minister were too many and without result.
Obele insisted that the Federal Government was not committed to fixing the refineries or making them functional. According to him, this was not the first time the minister was making a promise concerning refinery completion.
He further said it was unfortunate that the Sylva had failed to deliver on any of the promises he made, and that the latest promise by the Minister would still not be kept.
According to him, Nigeria is the only member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) that is without a functional refinery.