African Refinery Port Harcourt Limited, the NNPC Joint Venture Partner involved in the development of the 100,000 barrels per day refinery within the Port Harcourt Refinery Complex, commends the courageous move to eliminate the subsidy on premium motor spirit (PMS).
African Refinery’s CEO, Omotayo Adebajo, urged Nigerians to remain patient amidst the initial hardships caused by the removal of subsidies and to rally behind the President’s long-awaited strategic decision. In a statement released to the press, Adebajo acknowledged that the removal of subsidies had led to higher fuel prices. However, he strongly believed that this action would ultimately attract more investment in local refinery capacity. Furthermore, he emphasized the immediate benefit of subsidy removal, which would free up funds for the new government to allocate towards impactful projects benefiting the majority of Nigerians.
Adebajo also took the opportunity to call upon President Tinubu to continue the previous government’s commitment to supporting local refinery projects, as initially initiated by Buhari through NNPC Limited’s strategic equity investment in African Refinery’s 100kbd project in Port Harcourt, as well as the recently commissioned Dangote Refinery in Lagos. He stressed the critical importance of these projects in Nigeria’s quest to end fuel imports and ensure energy security, highlighting that their success hinged on the ongoing support of the Federal Government. Adebajo thus reiterated the widespread call for the new government to continue supporting private sector investors, particularly in terms of facilitating access to feedstock and offering government-backed low-interest financing.
