The Minority Caucus in the House of Representatives Tuesday described the approval of $1.5 billion for the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery as a huge scam and a ploy by unscrupulous elements to siphon public funds. The Federal Executive Council (FEC) had recently at its virtual meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari approved $1.5 billion for the rehabilitation of the refinery. But, the caucus in a statement by its Leader, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, while rejecting the amount, said the figure is outrageous and heavily inflated, demanding an immediate review of the cost. The lawmakers noted that while they are in support of any genuine effort to bridge energy deficit in Nigeria, such should not be used as a ploy by corrupt individuals to fleece the nation. The caucus called...
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, is currently shopping for $1 billion to revamp Nigeria’s biggest refinery located in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. To realise its plans, the nation’s oil company is already in high-level discussion to raise the money via a prepayment deal with trading firms. If the financing is successful, the long overdue rehabilitation of the refinery should reduce Nigeria’s hefty fuel import bill. It would also mark Nigeria’s second oil-backed financing since the COVID-19 pandemic that has added to the difficulty of finding investors as fuel demand is sapped by lockdowns and renewable energy is gaining ground over fossil fuels. The money would be repaid over seven years through deliveries of Nigerian crude and products from the refinery once the refurbis...