The Nigeria Senate has raised concerns over the $1.5 billion approved in 2021 for the turn-around maintenance of the Port Harcourt Refinery, citing little to no results.
Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, Chairman of the Senate Ad Hoc Committee to Investigate Alleged Economic Sabotage in the Nigerian Petroleum Industry, expressed these concerns during an interactive session with stakeholders on Wednesday in Abuja.
Bamidele, who also serves as the Senate Leader, emphasized that it was unfair and improper to neglect public companies while private businesses continued to flourish and thrive.
He recalled that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had approved a $1.5 billion plan by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources in 2021 to rehabilitate and revamp the Port Harcourt Refinery.
Bamidele expressed concerns about the dysfunctional state of government-owned refineries, despite the billions of dollars spent on maintenance and turnaround efforts.
“The federal government has invested billions of dollars to maintain and turn around the state-owned refineries in Kaduna, Port Harcourt and Warri. But the refineries are not functioning.
“In 2021, specifically, the Federal Executive Council approved 1.5 billion dollars for the turn-around maintenance of the Port Harcourt Refinery. Yet, this investment has not yielded significant returns.
“For us in the Senate, we believe, it is unfair and unpatriotic to treat government businesses or public corporations as an orphan while private businesses are flourishing and thriving,” Bamidele said.
He said that the National Assembly is ready to carry out the investigative hearing with all sense of honour and responsibility.
