House of Representatives has resolved to urgently investigate the current status of Nigeria’s non-functional refineries, despite the federal government reportedly spending about $18 billion on their turnaround maintenance for years. The resolution followed a motion moved during plenary yesterday by Sesi Whingan, representing Badagry Federal Constituency.
In his lead debate on the motion, the lawmaker drew attention to the persistent failure of the nation’s refineries to refine petroleum products, despite repeated assurances of rehabilitation and massive financial interventions year in year out. Whingan expressed concern about the current state of all refineries, noting that continuous importation of refined petroleum products has placed immense pressure on Nigeria’s foreign reserves and contributed to the instability of the naira, even though the country remains one of Africa’s largest crude oil producers.
According to the lawmaker, “the huge expenditure on Turnaround Maintenance, TAM, of Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries has not yielded much results, leaving Nigerians to raise questions on the transparency and accountability of the whole process.” Consequently, the House after the amendment of the motion unanimously adopted some parts, while relevant ad-hoc committees were asked to conduct a comprehensive investigation into all funds appropriated, released and utilised for the rehabilitation of the three major refineries.
The lawmakers also urged the committee to engage relevant government agencies, contractors, as well as stakeholders in the oil and gas sector to ascertain the true state of the facilities and report back for further legislative action. The Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, who presided over yesterday’s plenary, emphasised that the House would leave no stone unturned in uncovering the truth behind the alleged mismanagement of the billions of dollars spent on the refineries over the years.
