By Chuks Eke
Chief Rommy Ezeonwuka, a member of Board of Trustees of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, has tasked the Federal Government to resolve the lingering fuel crisis in the country by legalizing those refineries they tagged as illegal refineries.
He said in the event the federal government failed to repay our existing refineries to refine our crude oil locally, government should legalize the so-called illegal refineries to boost local production and supply at reduced price.
In his Twitter Handle, Ezeonwuka, who has a Chieftaincy title of Ogilisi Igbo stated that the diversion of huge amount of funds budgeted for the maintenance of moribund refineries into private pockets and continued importation of the products with payment of subsidies would never allow the prices of fuel to come down to the reach of average Nigerians.
He insisted that it is either the federal government repay the refineries or recognize those labelled illegal ones which they usually destroy at sight to boost adequate supply of the commodity at an affordable price as according to him, any slight scarcity or ncrease in the prices of Petroleum products usually have an attendant negative chain reactions.
According to Ezeonwuka, “The act of chasing after illegal refiners and destruction of their refineries is something that must be stopped by the Federal Government. It has been quite a challenge building and maintaining refineries by the government, but individuals have been ingenious enough to fabricate their own and are running them successfully. That shows that government is not economical with the truth,”.
“Of course, these refineries are called illegal, but if they are efficient, why not convert them into masterpieces?, he queried.
“Why not work with enthusiastic business men who are making things work without spending a dime? Between 2010 and 2023, N11.35 trillion was spent by the Federal Government for turnaround maintenance of Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries. Not a single result was realised. The monies were either laundered and no work was done or the work done yielded nothing”.
“But the so called illegal refiners are busy, constructing refineries with their meagre resources, and they are doing it real good as they have been able to refine crude into petroll”.
“All these illegal refineries they are destroying are the ones that will save Nigeria. During the war, the Igbos were able to refine crude and use them for three solid years”.
“The same Igbos in partnership with the South South, through these numerous illegal refineries, can flood Nigeria with petroleum and avoid all the foreign conspirators that encourage the destruction of these so called illegal refineries”.
“By the time you assemble 500 of them, or 1000 of them and make use of them, there will be petroleum products everywhere, because they will take crude oil from our land. Government will list them, and use them to provide the products, tax them, partner with them and the problem of Refinery will be over”.
“Now, he has put Igbo into the system of Nigeria by signing into law the South East Development Commission Bill. He should give them a chance to prove themselves”.
“There is something Igbos know how to do best, that is creativity and innovation. Give Igbos three four, five months, let them join South South that we call illegal bunkerers and illegal refiners, and tomorrow, you will see that it’s them that will save Nigeria”.
“I believe in test and see. So am calling on Jagaban to invest in the innovation and creativity of the so-called illegal refineries, let the refiners be invited by the Federal Government to help and fix Nigeria. They are already successful in illegal Refinery and marketing, why won’t they be successful when they are legalised? They know how to do it, give them a chance”, Ogilisi stated.
On the issue of food insecurity in the country, Ogilidi Igbo declared: “We must fight for food production. A nation without a source of food production is a dying nation. Our farmers have all abandoned the farms due to heavy insecurity in our farm lands. All across the country, bandits and herdsmen compete to destroy farms, kidnap or kill farmers and occupy their farms. With such wickedness being perpetrated, how can we have food to eat?
The farmers are scared and can no longer do farm work. The result is total lack of food, or scarcity, leading to high costs of living. The president must provide adequate security for farmers and destroy the herdsmen/bandits network that are making Nigerians starve. That’s the only ways to end the hunger.
“Lastly, I want to thank the protesters for their maturity. They have remained peaceful, law-abiding and goal-driven. They should keep it up so we can see if the government will act to end this hunger”, he stated.
