Reps probe $18bn spent on refineries rehabilitation

By Gift ChapiOdekina, Abuja

The House of Representatives, connected Thursday, resolved to analyse the continued non-functionality of Nigeria’s 3 state-owned refineries – Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna – contempt implicit $18 cardinal reportedly spent connected their rehabilitation implicit the past 2 decades.

This followed the adoption of a question connected the “Non-functionality of State-owned Refineries” moved by Sesi Oluwaseun Whingan during plenary successful Abuja.

Whingan expressed heavy interest that contempt repeated promises and monolithic investments successful turnaround maintenance, the refineries stay comatose, forcing Nigeria to trust heavy connected imported petroleum products.

… Dangote

He recalled that successful 2007, nether erstwhile President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, Alhaji Aliko Dangote and different backstage investors had acquired the refineries.

But the transaction was aboriginal reversed by the precocious President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, who opted for government-led rehabilitation a determination that has yielded nary tangible results.

Whingan noted that some Dangote and Obasanjo had precocious described the refineries arsenic unviable, saying the billions sunk into their repairs were wasted.

Their statements, helium said, person renewed nationalist outrage implicit imaginable mismanagement of nationalist funds.

The lawmaker cited comments by the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Limited, Engr. Bayo Ojulari, who successful an interrogation connected July 10, distanced the existent medication from the alleged mismanagement of the refineries and hinted astatine the imaginable merchantability of the assets.

“The revelation by the NNPC GCEO confirms that contempt immense budgetary allocations implicit the years, the refineries stay non-functional,” Whingan lamented. He described the concern arsenic a gross misuse of nationalist funds and a betrayal of nationalist trust.

He warned that Nigeria’s vigor information and economical stableness were astatine risk, particularly pursuing the removal of petrol subsidy, stressing that the lack of functional refineries aggravates ostentation and nationalist hardship.

C’ttee probe

The House referred the question to Committees connected Gas resources, Public Assets, Petroleum Upstream, Midstream and Downstream to: 

*Investigate each funds appropriated and disbursed for the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries betwixt 2010 and 2024;

*Ascertain the existent operational presumption of the refineries, and

*Examine however nationalist funds were utilised;

*Identify agencies oregon individuals liable for infractions oregon mismanagement.

The committees are expected to study backmost to the House wrong 4 weeks for further legislative action.

Vanguard News

The station Reps probe $18bn spent connected refineries rehabilitation appeared archetypal connected Vanguard News.