With the Port Harcourt refinery failing again to resume operations after about six postponements, and with no official government communication on the reason for this delay, the President Bola Tinubu-led administration seems uncommitted to bridging the trust gap in government.

Development Diaries reports that the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, which manages the refinery, have repeatedly failed to fulfil their promise to recommence the production of refined petroleum products at the Port Harcourt refinery.

Recall that in March 2024, the Group Managing Director (GMD) of NNPC Limited, Mele Kyari, announced that commercial production of refined products at the Port Harcourt refinery would begin two weeks from when he made the announcement.

This was after the company announced ‘a mechanical completion of phase one of the rehabilitation project’, with a promise to ‘get the other plants running in 2024′.

Nigerians should also recall that in January and February 2024, there was no update from the Ministry of Petroleum or the NNPC on the production commencement date.

As we approach the midpoint of August, the refinery has yet to resume production, and neither has the government done its job of providing updates on the matter.

Updates on the status of this refinery and the other three are required because President Tinubu, in August 2023, promised that the Port Harcourt refinery would resume operations by December 2023.

The president’s promise raised public expectations for a swift improvement in the country’s refining capacity and reduced fuel import dependency.

However, the government’s failure to fulfil its promise further widens the trust gap between citizens and the government, diminishing confidence in governance.

Development Diaries reiterates its call to the Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, to provide Nigerians with an update on the commencement of production at the Port Harcourt refinery.

Photo source: NNPC Group