BY PETER USMAN
Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), has called on the Federal Government to sell Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries, stating that they are drain on the country’s economy.
Similarly, crude refiners and marketers also advised the government to sell the refineries as scrap and use the proceeds to fund modular refineries, noting that the facilities are now a burden and liability to the government.
The Director-General of MAN, Segun Ajayi-Kadiri, stated that the refineries were gulping government resources with no result to show, adding that about $3 billion has been spent to revive the refineries, without result.
Report has revealed that about $1.5bn was approved for the rehabilitation of Port Harcourt refinery in 2021, $897 million earmarked for Warri refinery, and $586 million for Kaduna.
N100bn was reportedly spent on refinery rehabilitation in 2021, with N8.33bn monthly expenditure. $396.33m was spent on Turn Around Maintenance between 2013 and 2017.
Despite all the financial allocations, the refineries remain unproductive at the moment. While featuring on a live television programme on Wednesday, the MAN DG, Ajayi-Kadiri, reiterated the call for the sale of the four refineries, saying anything that belongs to everyone belongs to no one.
DG MAN said Nigeria is too big to be ‘pocketed’ by anyone because there are many resilient and hard-working Nigerians ready to make good of private business, urging the government to partner with this set of people to run the economy.
He said, “Those four refineries you are talking about are just a pure drain on the Nigerian economy, and it is not fair to the Nigerian people. We should have a situation where we can speak truth to ourselves and ensure that we encourage private sector investment.”
Ajayi-Kadiri argued that the refineries would be functional if sold to private investors, adding that this would also reduce fraud and opacity.
According to him, “This is our natural endowment. We are the sixth-largest producer of crude oil in the world, yet we suffer. I can tell you that if you completely go private, it will be difficult for anybody to steal. It will be difficult for anybody to be unaccountable. It will be difficult for anyone to have a situation where there are continuous insinuations of massive fraud anywhere.
“Those four other refineries should be competitors with the Dangote refinery. We were told that one was working, but now we’ve been told that it is no longer working. The government should give it to people who would ensure that it works.”
The Publicity Secretary of the Crude Oil Refineries Association of Nigeria, Eche Idoko, in an interview urged the Federal Government to sell the refineries to fund modular refineries.
Idoko expressed concerns that the Federal Government has expended billions of dollars to rehabilitate the refineries, yet none were working as of the time of filing this report.
According to him, modular refineries should be given intervention funds, which would also give the government stakes in the refineries.
“From what you have seen, do you think it is viable to keep these refineries? I think the refineries should be sold as scrap, and then the government should invest in private refineries.
“They can still sell the refineries. Last time, some people were willing to buy them. People can buy the refineries and turn them around. Let the government have equities in these refineries, but not own and run them.
“At the end of the day, the refineries are liabilities. The refineries still add to the government’s total pay. The refineries still have overheads that the government has to pay. It’s becoming a burden, but they can dispose of those assets and use the proceeds to invest in viable refineries and have equities in the new refineries that will be giving returns to the government,” Idoko said.