Lawyer queries N11.3tn refinery rehabilitation spending

A Lagos-based lawyer, Abdul-Ganeey Imran, has filed a Freedom of Information request to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, demanding details about the state of the country’s four government-owned refineries.

In the request, which was addressed to NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, Imran sought clarification on the reported N11.3tn spent on refinery rehabilitation between 2010 and 2024.

Imran’s letter, dated September 24, 2024, specifically referenced the report by the House of Representatives’ Ad Hoc Committee on the State of Refineries.

The report alleges that the Federal Government spent a total of N11,350,000,000,000 rehabilitating the refineries.

The lawyer asked the NNPC to confirm the accuracy of the figure or provide the correct amount spent on the turnaround maintenance of the Kaduna refinery and others from 2010 to date.

In the FOI letter, titled “Freedom of Information Request on the Status of the Four Government-Owned Refineries in Nigeria in Relation to the Recent Hike in the Price of Premium Motor Spirits (PMS),” Imran also sought details of the sums spent on the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries during the same period.

He asked, “If the figures being circulated for the rehabilitation of these refineries are incorrect, can the NNPC provide the total amount spent on their turnaround maintenance since 2010?”

The lawyer, based in Lagos and principal partner of Brown & Cooper Solicitors, explained that his decision to file the FOI request was prompted by an editorial published in The PUNCH.

The letter quoted The PUNCH editorial published on Tuesday, September 3, 2024, under the heading “Scarcity: NNPC constitutes an economic danger, sell it.”

It read, “After conducting my personal research, I believe it is necessary to request further details under the Freedom of Information Act of 2011.”

Imran’s letter demanded answers to several key questions.

He said, “If all four refineries in Nigeria were fully functional, would there be any disadvantage to the economy? If not, why do the refineries remain moribund despite the trillions of naira spent on them?”

“Sometime in 2021, the erstwhile president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. President Muhammadu Buhari borrowed a whopping sum of $1.5bn and the same was specifically earmarked for the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery.

“This was despite serious public outcry that the amount so approved and borrowed for turnaround maintenance of Port Harcourt only was too outrageous when, in the same year 2021, Shell’s Martinez Refinery which is of a similar size but more profitable than the Port Harcourt refinery was sold for $1.2bn, in California, United States.”

Referring to the $1.5bn loan, Imran inquired about the specifics of the contract.

He asked, “Which company was awarded the contract for the turnaround maintenance, and how much has been disbursed so far? What was the original timeline for completion, and why has it not been achieved?”

The lawyer also pointed out that in 2019, Kyari assured Nigerians that all four refineries would be fully operational before the end of Buhari’s administration.

In July 2024, Kyari reportedly told the Senate, “I can confirm to you, Mr Chairman, that by the end of the year, this country will be a net exporter of petroleum products.”

Imran questioned the failure of the refineries to commence operations despite these repeated assurances.

“Why have the Port Harcourt refinery and the other three refineries not started operating, even after multiple assurances and the huge sums spent on them?” he asked.

The lawyer also raised concerns over the recent hike in the price of petrol to over N1,000 per litre, questioning the NNPC’s role in regulating fuel prices.

He asked, “Does the NNPC or the government of Nigeria have the moral authority to justify this insensitive and callous increase in fuel prices?”

Imran further cited reports from the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission which, in June 2023, claimed that the NNPC withheld N8.48tn in petrol subsidies since January 2022.

He also referenced a 2021 report by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, which accused the NNPC of failing to remit $2bn in taxes to the Federal Government in 2022.

“I seek to know the accuracy of these serious allegations made by credible government agencies,” he said.