President Tinubu Vows to Make Nigeria’s Refineries Fully Profitable, Takes Responsibility for Past Failures

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has promised that the nation’s state-owned refineries will return to full, sustainable, and profitable operations under an economic and structural reset designed to deliver genuine value to Nigerians.

Speaking at the State House in Abuja while receiving the newly elected National Executive Council of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), President Tinubu explained that the Federal Government is abandoning cosmetic fixes in favor of evidence-based solutions to address structural, managerial, and operational challenges.

The President pointed out that merely restarting refinery machinery to produce visible emissions does not guarantee success, stressing that state-owned refining infrastructure must be financially viable and generate clear economic returns.

Tinubu accepted full ownership of inherited challenges across the petroleum refining sector, noting that while previous administrations struggled with maintenance and production bottlenecks, his administration will focus on making the facilities work for the broader public good rather than shifting blame.

Highlighting broader energy transition policies, the President also touched on the rollout of the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) initiative. While pledging increased collaboration with oil and gas workers, he appealed to transport union leaders and fleet operators to ensure that the cheaper running costs provided by CNG are reflected in reduced transport fares for ordinary commuters.

In his remarks, NUPENG National President Comrade Salimon Akanni Oladiti praised the administration’s courage in eliminating the fuel subsidy regime, calling it a vital move that rescued national finances from severe drain. The union leadership, however, urged the government to sustain rehabilitation drives across the country’s refining plants and extend private equity management arrangements to revive aging storage depots and pipeline distribution channels.