Abia Starts Refining Petroleum Products in 2025, Investigates Measles Outbreak

Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia

Abia State government has announced that on or before December 2025, refined petroleum products would start flowing out of a modular refinery currently being built in the state.

The Commissioner for Information and Culture, Prince Okey Kanu, broke the cheering news Wednesday while briefing journalists on the outcome of this week’s edition of the State Executive Council meeting.

He said that the modular refinery, which is a private sector-driven project, counts as the “first major project” in the Abia Industrial Innovation Park (AIIP) located in the oil-bearing Owaza, Ukwa West Local Government.

Kanu said that it was expected that when it becomes operational, the refinery would generate over 2,000 direct jobs in additional to thousands of indirect jobs.

“This is a project that is very important to this government and every effort will be made to realise it,” he said, adding that the refinery would “help provide refined products for Abians, v

 as well as increase the revenue base of the state”.

Abia is among Nigeria’s oil producing states hence the information commissioner said that the state was out to leverage on this status and reap full benefits from its natural endowment.

Kanu revealed that “many investors are already jostling” to take advantage of Abia’s potentials to find space in the state’s investment opportunities at the AIIP.

The Commissioner for Petroleum, Professor Joel Ogbonna, while corroborating his information counterpart, said that the modular refinery “presents a huge opportunity for job and wealth creation” in the state.

He stated that the project signifies that “we are taking advantage of the natural endowment which we have not taken advantage of before now”.

Ogbonna expressed optimism that “in the next couple of years, job opportunities would be huge (as) AIIP is in the position to provide over 10,000 jobs and I look forward to that”.

Meanwhile, the state government’s spokesman also announced that the state has launched investigation into “suspected” outbreak of measles in Arochukwu and Umunneochi Local Governments.

He said that the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Ngozi Okoronkwo, and her team have been “working round the clock” to contain the outbreak and ensure that the epidemic won’t spread beyond the two local governments.

Okoronkwo, who threw more light on the health emergency, said that up to three children were reported to have been affected by this condition, hence “it’s considered an outbreak”.

“We are currently mopping up to identify those children and also ascertain when this condition started,” she said, assuring Abians that “we are trying to identify them and avert any further spread”.