The Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineers (NSCHE) has advised the federal government to revive the nation’s predominantly moribund refineries with a public private partnership template rather than outright sale.
According to NSCHE, constant exportation of crude oil and importation of refined petroleum products is depriving the country of employment opportunities and expertise.
President of the society, Engr. Saidu Mohammed, noted this in Ilorin, Kwara state capital, as part of activities of its 52nd anniversary and annual general conference.
Mohammed said the body is convinced that our refineries can be brought back into operation with the PPP model.
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“Right now NNPC is making some efforts to rehabilitate the refineries. But we believe that joint private-public initiative will be the best that will enable the refineries to come back into sustainable operation rather than outright sale.
“It is important for us to do that, because we cannot continue a situation that the country is just exporting crude oil and importing petroleum products.
“It means we are exporting our jobs, as well as expertise which we can develop in our nation. This is the position of the NSCHE”, he noted.
Engr. Mohammed added that the society is collaborating with the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) to revolutionise the Nigerian industrial sector.
“Under the fourth industrial revolution, disruptive technologies and trends such as blockchain, internet of things (IoT), machine learning, robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), third printing technology and driverless car, would dictate the pace of development among nations. The Nigeria industrial sector cannot be left out.
“However, much as Nigerian manufacturers are desirous of playing dominant roles in the fourth industrial revolution, they are aware that the road to increased productivity and competitiveness cannot be a walk in the park; that it requires hard work and commitment by all.”
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