The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited has made another Port Harcourt refinery promise, but what does this new promise mean for the government and citizens?

Development Diaries reports that the Group Managing Director (GMD) of NNPC, Mele Kyari, recently announced that commercial production of refined products at the Port Harcourt refinery will begin in two weeks.

This is coming 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′.

And in January and February 2024, there was no update from the government or the NNPC on the production commencement date.

Understandably, refinery upgrades or restorations require significant investments, technical expertise, and meticulous planning. So what is expected of the government is transparency on the real status of things and not making promises they cannot fulfil.

Persistent unfulfilled promises reflect a lack of accountability. When the government or its agencies make promises without fulfilling them, they lose public trust.

‘We are serving this country with honour and dignity. And we will make sure that the promises we make on the rehabilitation of these refineries will take place’, the NNPC boss said.

For the federal government, specifically the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, this is another opportunity to build public trust in government.

To this end, Development Diaries calls on the NNPC GMD and the minister to ensure that they match their words with action and meet the expectations of Nigerians.

We also call on citizens to begin an accountability countdown on this latest promise and hold the government accountable when the time elapses and the refinery is still not operational.

Photo source: NNPC