Bashir Ahmad, former media aide to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, has emphasized the need for more petroleum refineries in northern Nigeria.
His remarks were made in response to a discussion on X concerning the operational viability of the Kaduna Refinery.
Financial expert Kalu Aja had questioned the economic rationale behind the Kaduna Refinery, suggesting it was originally designed to process imported crude oil.
Bashir Ahmad argued that situating a refinery inland, away from coastal access, was inefficient. Aja further criticized the decision to construct a crude oil pipeline from the Niger Delta to Kaduna in 1980, questioning why a gas pipeline was not prioritized instead.
In defence of the refinery’s design, X user Bello Salleh countered Aja’s claims, labelling them as misleading. Ahmad supported Salleh’s perspective, criticizing Aja for making what he described as “unguarded and ill-informed assertions” on national matters.
Ahmad stressed the importance of grounding discussions in factual information.
Highlighting recent developments, Ahmad pointed to the advanced progress at the Kolmani oil fields, located in the North.
He suggested that with the anticipated increase in oil production from these fields, the northern region might soon require additional refining capacity to process the output efficiently.
Bashir Ahmad’s comments underscore the broader conversation about Nigeria’s energy infrastructure and the strategic placement of refineries to optimize resource utilization and economic benefits across different regions.
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cc: Daily Post Ng
