Former lawmaker, Senator Ben Murray-Bruce, has sent an important message to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the revival of the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries.

In a statement on Wednesday, Murray-Bruce, also called Mr Common Sense, told Tinubu to appoint bold, competent and result-driven individuals to revive Nigerian refineries and carry out reforms in the country’s petroleum sector.

According to him, Nigeria needs more “mad men”—his description of courageous public officials prepared to confront powerful interests, dismantle dysfunctional systems and deliver measurable results in the country’s oil and gas sector.

Murray-Bruce stressed that the petroleum sector requires transformational leadership capable of moving beyond endless explanations, technical reviews and shifting deadlines.

According to him, Tinubu must appoint individuals who can restore the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries to commercially viable operations while substantially increasing Nigeria’s crude oil production.

He noted that the three government-owned refineries should achieve a combined reliable throughput of at least 325,000 barrels per day, which is capable of meeting domestic demand and enabling Nigeria to export refined petroleum products.

On crude oil production, Murray-Bruce challenged the President to identify and appoint officials capable of driving output towards the administration’s target of four million barrels per day by 2030.

DAILY POST reports that the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria, PETROAN had challenged the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to walk the talk on the revamp of the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries.

PETROAN’s charge came after President Tinubu, in a meeting with the leadership of the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, barely a week ago, assured that state-owned refineries would work.