Atiku Faults FG’s Plot To Use $1.5 Billion To Renovate P/Harcourt Refinery

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has described the
allocation of $1.5billion for the rehabilitation of Port Harcourt
refinery as suspicious, considering the financial burden of the
country.

Recall that the Federal Executive Council on Wednesday had
approved $1.5bn for the Ministry of Petroleum Resources to
rehabilitate the Port Harcourt Refinery.

Issuing a statement on Thursday, Mr Abubakar said the cost of
the projects is prohibitive, lamenting that the country’s debt has
grown from ₦12 trillion in 2015 to ₦32.9 trillion.

He said: “We cannot as a nation expect to make economic progress
if we continue to fund inefficiency, and we are going too deep into
the debt trap for unnecessarily overpriced projects.

“Our national debt has grown from ₦12 trillion in 2015 to ₦32.9
trillion today. Surely that is shocking enough to cause us to be
more prudent in the way we commit future generations into the
bondage of bonds and debt.”

Read the full statement below:

$1.5 Billion To Renovate The Port Harcourt Refinery Is
Suspicious At The Least

That Nigeria’s economy is in dire straits is a fact well-known
both to the nation and to our international partners. Unemployment
has just reached an all time high of 33%, while inflation has hit
another record high of 17%.

At this critical period, we must as a nation be prudent with the
use of whatever revenue we are able to generate, and even if we
must borrow, we must do so with the utmost responsibility and
discipline.

To therefore budget the sum of $1.5 billion to renovate or turn
around the Port Harcourt Refinery would appear to be an unwise use
of scarce funds at this critical juncture for a multiplicity of
reasons.

First of all, our refineries have been loss-making for multiple
years, and indeed, it is questionable wisdom to throw good money
after bad. At other times, I have counselled that the best course
of action would be to privatise our refineries, so they can be run
more effectively and efficiently.

Moreover, the cost appears prohibitive. Too prohibitive,
especially as Shell Petroleum Development Company last year sold
its Martinez Refinery in California, USA, which is of a similar
size as the Port Harcourt refinery, for $1.2 billion. We must bear
in mind that the Shell Martinez Refinery is more profitable than
the Port Harcourt Refinery.

Given this discrepancy, might we ask if there was a public
tender before this cost was announced? Was due diligence performed?
Because we are certainly not getting value for money. Not by a long
stretch.

We cannot as a nation expect to make economic progress if we
continue to fund inefficiency, and we are going too deep into the
debt trap for unnecessarily overpriced projects.

Our national debt has grown from ₦12 trillion in 2015 to ₦32.9
trillion today. Surely that is shocking enough to cause us to be
more prudent in the way we commit future generations into the
bondage of bonds and debt.

Atiku Abubakar
Vice President of Nigeria, 1999-2007
18th March, 2021.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has described the
allocation of $1.5billion for the rehabilitation of Port Harcourt
refinery as suspicious, considering the financial burden of the
country.

Recall that the Federal Executive Council on Wednesday had
approved $1.5bn for the Ministry of Petroleum Resources to
rehabilitate the Port Harcourt Refinery.

Issuing a statement on Thursday, Mr Abubakar said the cost of
the projects is prohibitive, lamenting that the country’s debt has
grown from ₦12 trillion in 2015 to ₦32.9 trillion.

He said: “We cannot as a nation expect to make economic progress
if we continue to fund inefficiency, and we are going too deep into
the debt trap for unnecessarily overpriced projects.

“Our national debt has grown from ₦12 trillion in 2015 to ₦32.9
trillion today. Surely that is shocking enough to cause us to be
more prudent in the way we commit future generations into the
bondage of bonds and debt.”

Read the full statement below:

$1.5 Billion To Renovate The Port Harcourt Refinery Is
Suspicious At The Least

That Nigeria’s economy is in dire straits is a fact well-known
both to the nation and to our international partners. Unemployment
has just reached an all time high of 33%, while inflation has hit
another record high of 17%.

At this critical period, we must as a nation be prudent with the
use of whatever revenue we are able to generate, and even if we
must borrow, we must do so with the utmost responsibility and
discipline.

To therefore budget the sum of $1.5 billion to renovate or turn
around the Port Harcourt Refinery would appear to be an unwise use
of scarce funds at this critical juncture for a multiplicity of
reasons.

First of all, our refineries have been loss-making for multiple
years, and indeed, it is questionable wisdom to throw good money
after bad. At other times, I have counselled that the best course
of action would be to privatise our refineries, so they can be run
more effectively and efficiently.

Moreover, the cost appears prohibitive. Too prohibitive,
especially as Shell Petroleum Development Company last year sold
its Martinez Refinery in California, USA, which is of a similar
size as the Port Harcourt refinery, for $1.2 billion. We must bear
in mind that the Shell Martinez Refinery is more profitable than
the Port Harcourt Refinery.

Given this discrepancy, might we ask if there was a public
tender before this cost was announced? Was due diligence performed?
Because we are certainly not getting value for money. Not by a long
stretch.

We cannot as a nation expect to make economic progress if we
continue to fund inefficiency, and we are going too deep into the
debt trap for unnecessarily overpriced projects.

Our national debt has grown from ₦12 trillion in 2015 to ₦32.9
trillion today. Surely that is shocking enough to cause us to be
more prudent in the way we commit future generations into the
bondage of bonds and debt.

Atiku Abubakar
Vice President of Nigeria, 1999-2007
18th March, 2021.