Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, said a working local petrol refinery would not cut down the product’s price.
He insists that if the refinery comes on board, a litre of petrol in Nigeria could be the most expensive in the world.
Oyedele spoke at The Platform’s Independence Anniversary event, held in Lagos on Monday.
Oyedele said the cost of maintaining the local refinery would cost the country the funds that had been saved from fuel subsidy removal.
He said inefficiencies in the management of the refineries might bring about the worst situation should Nigerian refineries produce petroleum.
“Nigerians would say that if only our refineries worked, we’d be fine. Nothing can be farther from the truth than that.
“Nigerians should come together and say, please ensure our refineries don’t work. We should sell them.
“If Nigerian refineries process crude oil unless we deal with our inefficiency, one litre of petrol will be the most expensive in the world.
“You would have succeeded in replacing the subsidy at the pump with subsidy of the refineries,” he added.
“The National Assembly said we have spent over N10tn maintaining our refineries even when they have not produced anything.”
