The Federal Government is to forge ahead with its plan of spending $1.5bn on the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery despite criticisms that had trailed the move.
Officials of the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation stated on Friday that it had been the intention of government to revamp the unprofitable facility.
The Federal Executive Council had on Wednesday approved the plan by the FMPR to rehabilitate the Port Harcourt Refinery with $1.5bn.
The decision was taken at the weekly meeting of the council presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, who announced this, stated that the rehabilitation would happen in three phases.
But the plan to spend $1.5bn on the facility came under intense criticisms by many Nigerians.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar faulted the $1.5bn approval and argued that budgeting the amount for the renovation of a refinery at a critical period of increased unemployment and inflation “would appear to be an unwise use of scarce funds.”
However, when contacted to know if the ministry would review its stance on the revamp of the refinery, following the widespread criticism that greeted the development, the FMPR said there had been no counter-directive to that effect.
The Deputy Director of Information, FMPR, Enefaa Bob-Manuel, said the petroleum minister had never rescinded his decision to forge ahead with the move.
“Has the minister said otherwise? He has not said otherwise on the information about which you called me to get my reaction,” Bob-Manuel stated.
Also, an official at NNPC, who preferred not to be named, said the plan to fix the refinery had been on for long and it would be improper to back down at this time when funds for its revamp had been approved despite opposition to it.
