President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, has warned that the Federal government must ensure that both public and private refineries are fully operational to support local refining of crude oil.
He stated this during an interview on Arise News on Monday night, while reacting to the conflicts in the Middle East.
He lamented that the conflict has shown that Nigeria lacks a shock absorber, stressing that it has exposed how little protection the country has against economic problems caused by global events.
Ajaero noted that within days of the crisis involving Iran, Israel, and the United States, Nigeria had already started experiencing effects, particularly in the oil sector.
The labour leader said the situation shows how easily the country can be affected by changes in the global oil market.
According to him, “The current crisis between the three nations has just shown us as a country without a shock absorber. If there is a crisis in the global oil market today, Nigerians will feel the impact today.
“So far, some people believe it will take about two months to build up some reserves we could use. Less than a week after the crisis began, we already started feeling its effects.”
He argued that no country should make its citizens immediately bear the consequences of international crises that are beyond their control.
“No country lets its people face such a big worldwide problem without having a reason of their own.
“No one expected this, the countries around the world can start fighting tomorrow, the oil-producing countries can start fighting tomorrow, does that mean that Nigerians will start suffering right away?” He asked.
He emphasized that Nigeria must ensure both public and private refineries are fully operational to support local refining of crude oil.
“We are saying that there should be both public and private refineries, and they should both operate.
“In fact, the Nigeria Labour Congress has proposed some ideas that some young men in the Niger Delta are working on.
“Refining is not something complicated, and it should not be controlled too strictly. What we are seeing now is more like a monopoly,” he said.
He emphasized the need for domestic refining to reduce exposure to external shocks.
“Unless we start producing crude oil here and refine it for use at home, we will face this kind of challenge and crisis,” he said.
Ajaero also said that although the crisis might increase Nigeria’s income, there are worries about how these funds will be handled.