Port Harcourt Refinery: “It is unwise to throw good money after bad – Atiku
Port Harcourt Refinery: “It is unwise to throw good money after bad – Atiku
Former Vice President (VP), Atiku Abubakar, has described the federal government’s decision to spend $1.5 billion on the renovation of the Port Harcourt refinery as unwise and an act of throwing good money after bad.
Mr Atiku, in a statement on Thursday, stated that the decision was unwise because Nigeria’s refineries have been loss-making for multiple years. He explained that it is questionable wisdom to throw good money after bad.
Port Harcourt Refinery: “It is unwise to throw good money after bad – Atiku
The Federal Executive Council on Wednesday approved $1.5 billion for the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery, however, reacting to the decision which was greeted with mixed feelings, Mr Atiku said that the cost of the repair appears excessive and exorbitant.
“Especially as Shell Petroleum Development Company last year sold its Martinez Refinery in California, USA, which is of a similar size as the Port Harcourt refinery, for $1.2 billion. We must bear in mind that the Shell Martinez Refinery is more profitable than the Port Harcourt Refinery,” the former VP stated.
He at time when unemployment and inflation has hit an all-time high and the Nigeria’s economy is in dire straits “we must as a nation be prudent with the use of whatever revenue we can generate, and even if we must borrow, we must do so with the utmost responsibility and discipline.
To therefore budget the sum of $1.5 billion to renovate or turn around the Port Harcourt Refinery would appear to be an unwise use of scarce funds at this critical juncture for an assortment of reasons,” Mr Atiku said.
“We cannot as a nation expect to make economic progress if we continue to fund inefficiency, and we are going too deep into the debt trap for unnecessarily overpriced projects.
Our national debt has grown from ₦12 trillion in 2015 to ₦32.9 trillion today. Indeed that is shocking enough to cause us to be more prudent in the way we commit future generations into the bondage of bonds and debt,” the former VP further stated.
Port Harcourt Refinery: “It is unwise to throw good money after bad – Atiku
