The fanfare that greeted the resumption of activities at the Port Harcourt Refining Company on Tuesday may have melted away leaving the hope and expectations of many Nigerians hanging.
A visit by Saturday PUNCH to the refinery on Friday revealed that there was no activity on site, as some workers met by our correspondent claimed that the refinery was undergoing calibration which might last till next week.
The Port Harcourt Refinery has faced numerous delays and missed deadlines to resume operations.
However, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, Melee Kyari, inaugurated the new plant at the Area 5 terminal of the refinery on Tuesday. It was claimed that 200 petrol trucks were loading daily from the plant.
However, the announcement was met with skepticism as reports circulated that the trucks were loaded with old products in the storage tanks.
Upon visiting the Port Harcourt Refinery Area 5, our correspondent observed no signs of activity.
An official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, revealed that the loaded trucks contained “dead stock”.
