By Adesina Soyooye
Criticisms, like claps of thunder, have greeted the Federal Government’s announcement that it would spend a whopping $1.5b (One billion, five Hundred million US Dollars) on the turn-around maintenance of the, almost, moribund Port Hacout Refinery, Rivers State.
The huge amount to be spent on the project was announced by President Muhammadu Buhari’s Deputy Minister for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva. Buhari is the substantive Minister for Petroleum Resources, a position he had also held as a Military Officer in a Military regime. He was, also, the Chairman of the Petroleum Trust Fund, PTF, under the late former Head of State, General Sani Abacha.
Announcing the approval by the Federal Executive Council, FEC, to spend that obscene amont of money on the Refinery, Sylva said it would be done in three phases.
But many Nigerians have reacted in disbelief, calling it a complete waste of scarce resource in a season of great want and difficulties for the Country.
Two-time Governor of Anambra State, and the Vice Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in 2019 Election, Peter Obi, reacted in disbelief to the news. He described it as financial recklessness.
Taking to his official verified Twitter handle, Obi wrote: “The news of the planned exlenditure of a whopping $1.5billion for PH Refinery is worrisome to well-meaning Nigerians. It is a huge waste.
“Our economy is on life support, but sadly, the managers of our affairs are worsening the situation by their financial rascality.”
Former Senator, Dino Melaye, in a video, decried the plan to waste money on the dead.
Descibing the PH Refinery as long been dead, Dino asked if the FG wanted to waste the $1.5bn on its embalmment.
The Conference of Nigerian Political Parties, CNPP, in a statement signed by its Secretary-General, Willy Ezukwu, condemned the plan to rehabilitate the Refinery in strong words.
The CNPP, said that; “The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) administration has not done any single thing differently than the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) since it came to power on the wings of its change
The statement asked the Federal Government to build a new refinery to help stop Nigeria from exporting crude oil, and importing fuel.The statement stated that the FG should “at least, do one thing right by building a brand new refinery and save the country from unending fuel importation in Nigeria.”
Expressing its disappointment, th in the Buhari Government, the CNPP said: “In 2015, most Nigerians were made to believe that an APC administration, headed by a retired General like President Muhammadu Buhari, would do things differently. But we now know better.
“It is disappointing that after spending over $25 billion on so-called turnaround maintenance of Nigeria’s refineries without any improvement, the Federal Executive Council, chaired by President Buhari will approve fresh $1.5 billion (about N575 billion) for the repair of Port Harcourt refinery.
“How can a whopping N575 billion be wasted again on the 32-year-old Port Harcourt refinery instead of building a new one?
“While the 100 percent capacity of the Port Harcourt Refinery, a two-plant complex, has a combined capacity of 210,000 barrel-per-day (bpd), Dangote is building a 650,000 bpd refinery with just about $15 billion.
“The Dangote petrochemical complex is reported to house a gas processor and the world’s biggest plant for ammonia and urea, which is used in making plastics and fertilizer.
“The Dangote refinery will produce Euro-V quality petroy and diesel, as well as jet fuel and polypropylene.
“It means that the $25 billion already wasted in turnaround maintenance by successive administrations would have built a bigger refinery for Nigeria than Dangote’s celebrated refinery complex.
“It is, therefore, a shame that after wasting $25 billion, Nigeria is spending the sum of $1.5 billion, about N575 billion, for another fruitless round of rehabilitation work on a 32-year-old Port Harcourt refinery.
“The ruling APC and President must be told that Nigerians are fed up with the rehabilitation of refineries in the country as well as the attendant waste, we should be proactive as a country to minimise waste of resources.
“We see the planned maintenance to be done in three phases of 18, 24 and 44 months, a proposal by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, as one of the conduit pipes for siphoning Nigeria hard earned foreign currencies”, the CNPP stated.
The PH Refinery has been a money-guzzler in the hands of Nigeria’s successive Governments. On a number of occasions, huge sums of money had been budgeted and wasted. The results were not effective. Nigerians think the PH Refinery has become every administration’s ATM.
