The Nigerian Government has no plan to sell the refineries in the country, says President Muhammadu Buhari.

The president said this this while declaring open the 5th Triennial National Delegates’ Conference of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) on Wednesday.

President Buhari, who was represented by Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Ibe Kachikwu, added that it was imperative to make the clarification as there were rumours regarding this matter, especially from people who should know better.

According to the president, there has been no attempt and there is no approval to concession or sell refineries. “I keep hearing discussions all over the place, especially from people who should know better. What we have approval for is to bring in a financing mechanism that will enable us to finance and develop and upgrade the refineries as they are, he added.

“The reality is that once private sector players begin to build their own refineries, whatever we are afraid of will disappear. And unless we begin to move very rapidly and quickly to position these refineries in such a way that they can compete, we will lose the refineries completely, together with the jobs that exist there right now.

“My drive is to see that those investments goes through a transparent process and the announcement that you hear about selection has not happened.” The president, however, said there was need to bring in funds and best practices that would elevate the institutions to the level where they should work for the country as the nation was losing money from their operations.

— BERNAMA-NNN-NAN