A Lagos-based lawyer, Abdul Ganeey Imran, has filed a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, demanding details about the status of the four government-owned refineries in Nigeria.
In the FOI request addressed to NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer Mele Kyari, Imran requested confirmation regarding the accuracy of a report from the House of Representatives ad hoc Committee on the state of the refineries.
The report alleged that the Federal Government of Nigeria has spent a total of N11,350,000,000,000 (Eleven Trillion, three hundred and fifty Billion Naira) on the rehabilitation of the refineries from 2010 to date.
The request, dated September 24, 2024, stated that if the figures reported are incorrect, the NNPC should provide the total amount spent on turnaround maintenance of the Kaduna refinery between 2010 and the present.
The letter is titled “Freedom of Information Request on the Status of the Four Government-Owned Refineries in Nigeria in Light of the Recent Hike in the Price of Premium Motor Spirits (PMS).”
Imran also requested the total amount spent on turnaround maintenance for the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries between 2010 and the present.
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The letter reads: “I am a legal practitioner based in Lagos and the principal partner of Brown & Cooper Solicitors. An editorial published in The Punch on Tuesday, September 3, 2024 (under the heading ‘Scarcity: NNPC Constitutes an Economic Danger, Sell It’) prompted me to conduct further personal research. In the course of my findings, I deemed it necessary to request the following information under the authority granted by the Freedom of Information Act, 2011:
- Kindly confirm the accuracy of the report from the House of Representatives ad hoc Committee on the State of Refineries, which alleges that the Federal Government of Nigeria has spent a total of N11,350,000,000,000 on the rehabilitation of refineries from 2010 to date.
- If your response to the first question is that the figures provided by the House of Representatives ad hoc Committee on the State of Refineries are incorrect, please provide the correct figures, including:
– The total amount spent on turnaround maintenance of the Kaduna refinery between 2010 and the present.
– The total amount spent on turnaround maintenance of the Port Harcourt refinery in Rivers State between 2010 and the present.
– The total amount spent on turnaround maintenance of the Warri refinery between 2010 and the present.
- Please provide the annual refined product output for each of the refineries in Nigeria.
- If all four refineries in Nigeria were fully operational at optimal levels, what would be the disadvantages to the economy?
- If your answer to the previous question indicates that there would be no disadvantages, then why do the four refineries remain inoperable despite the trillions of Naira spent on them?
In 2021, the then-president of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, borrowed a substantial amount of $1.5 billion specifically for the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery, amid public outcry regarding the excessive cost. Notably, Shell’s Martinez Refinery, which is of similar size but more profitable, was sold for $1.2 billion in California, United States, in the same year.
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Regarding the $1.5 billion loan taken for the turnaround of the Port Harcourt refinery, I seek the following information:
– To which company was the contract for the turnaround maintenance awarded?
– What was the total cost of the turnaround maintenance awarded to that company?
– How much has been disbursed to the company so far?
– What was the original duration set for completion of the turnaround maintenance?
In 2019, NNPC Managing Director Mele Kyari assured Nigerians that the NNPC would revitalize all four of the country’s refineries before the end of former President Buhari’s administration. Also, in July 2024, while appearing before the Senate, he confidently stated, “I can confirm to you, Mr. Chairman, that by the end of the year, this country will be a net exporter of petroleum products.”
However, since December 2023, the NNPC has provided various dates—each time assuring citizens—that the refineries would resume operations. Yet, despite these assurances, none of the refineries have commenced operations for the sixth or seventh consecutive time. I therefore seek to understand:
– Why has the Port Harcourt refinery, in particular, and the other three refineries in general, not commenced operations?
