The Ijaw National Congress has urged the Federal Government to take action to ensure the operational status of the nation’s refineries, aiming to eliminate illegal refining activities.

It is important to note that the commitments made by the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company regarding the activation of refineries have repeatedly fallen short. Since December 2023, the NNPC, responsible for overseeing all government refineries, has provided various timelines to the public, promising that the sale of refined products would commence shortly.

In July, Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC, explicitly stated that operations would begin in early August. However, illegal refineries continue to thrive; a report from Saturday PUNCH indicates that Nigerian military forces have dismantled at least 137 illegal refineries during operations conducted from August 2023 to July 2024.

In an interview with Saturday PUNCH, Ezonebi Oyakemeagbegha, the National Publicity Secretary of INC, emphasized that if the country’s refineries were fully operational, there would be no justification for the existence of illegal ones. He raised concerns about why untrained individuals are allowed to manage illegal refineries while the nation’s facilities remain inactive.

Oyakemeagbegha stated, "The refineries must operate to alleviate the hardships faced by the people. We urge the federal government to implement all necessary actions to ensure the functionality of the refineries, as there is no justification for the existence of illegal refineries.

The refineries located in River State and the northern regions should be operational. I see no valid reason for them not to be. It is concerning that uneducated individuals are running illegal refineries and facing arrests. If these untrained individuals can manage illegal operations, then there is no reason why our legitimate refineries cannot function effectively."