A member of the House of Representatives, Henry Okojie, has stated that state-owned petroleum refineries in Port-Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna are critical national assets and as such, Nigerians have a say on whether to sell or retain them.
The Edo-born lawmaker who doubles as the Chairman, House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Midstream) stated this while reacting to remark credited to the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Bayo Ojulari, that the refineries could be sold given the difficulty in having them perform optimally despite the huge amount of money spent on turnaround maintenence.
In an interview with Bloomberg earlier in the week, the NNPCL boss was quoted as saying, “Some of the technology have not worked as we expected so far. But as you know, when you are refining with a very old refinery that has been abandoned for some time, what we are finding is that it is becoming a little bit more complicated. What we are saying is that sale is not out of the question.”
Ojulari’s comment came against the backdrop of claims by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote who stated on Thursday that the government-owned refineries may never work again.
In an interview in Abuja on Saturday, Okojie noted that his Committee would speak on behalf of millions of Nigerians on the fate of the refineries, at the appropriate time.
He said, “We represent millions of Nigerians who owned these refineries. This is not to fault the NNPCL boss or the highly respected Alhaji Dangote. As the Committee oversighting the oil company, it is our duty to advise the Federal Government in the best interest of Nigerians.
“If the Committee finds out that the money being spent on the maintenance of the refineries is money not well spent, we will make our position known. At the same time, it is rather too hasty to say that the refineries would be sold.”
Okojie, who represents Esan North East/ Esan South East on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, expressed concern why refineries that were recently celebrated for commencement of operation are again the objects of doubt and controversy.
“Just a few months ago, Nigerians were elated when they were told that the Port Harcourt refinery had resumed full operation. Kaduna and Warri were to follow suit. What then has happened that we are now being told that the refineries could be sold?” he asked.
On what the committee would do in the weeks ahead following the comments made by Ojulari and Dangote; the federal lawmaker said a comprehensive investigation is underway to unmask possible fraud in the system.
“The committee will carry out a holistic and forensic investigation to unravel all irregularities and fraud,” he pledged.
He also assured of the readiness of his Committee to collaborate with relevant stakeholders to unravel the true state of the refineries in public interest.
“We will work with experts on the way forward. We will visit the refineries and see things for ourselves. One thing is clear, we cannot encourage the Federal Government to continue to pump money into a project that is not economically viable. At the same time, we will not permit anyone to sabotage efforts to get these refineries to work for the nation. This is all I can say for now,” he added.
