By Abdullahi Alhassan, Kaduna
Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have called for the NNPCL to account for the money spent on the turnaround of the Port Harcourt refinery.
Reacting to the controversy surrounding the shutdown of the Port Harcourt refinery, the head of Transparency International (TI), the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), and the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), Awwal Musa Rafsanjani, condemned the action and called for accountability from the public officials and contractors who had worked on the facility’s repairs.
Rafsanjani, while attributing the whole issue to corruption, insisted that those involved in the earlier repairs of the refinery accounted for the money made available to that effect.
He further said Nigerians must be told what happened and the money must be returned; any attempt not to return the funds will be tantamount to a waste of time and dubious reforms, even if the new management of NNPCL intends to carry it out.
“What Nigeria is facing today is the collapse of responsible governance and patriotism by public officials. Everything is about the acquisition of public funds. It’s not about service. Otherwise, you can’t understand why, since the regime of Obasanjo, we have been spending money in the name of turnaround maintenance on these refineries that appear to be completely dormant.
“Port Harcourt, Warri, Kaduna…we keep spending money on maintenance. Billions have been spent without any commensurate repairs or upgrades to these facilities. That is to tell you that public officials are only interested in siphoning taxpayers’ money; they are not interested in service delivery.
He noted that the absence of accountability and responsible governance in the country has continued to hamper progress in terms of economic development, especially the oil and gas sector.
“Now that they close down this refinery, it is just to tell you how shameful or insincere and how corruption has taken the centre stage in our country.
“We condemn this act; after spending huge public taxpayers’ money, you close it down, so could you explain to Nigerians what happened to the money spent on the refinery? Was it that the money was not properly utilised, or what happened, and where’s the money? Are they going to refund the money because of the poor treatment that was done? There must be an explanation for Nigerians.
“So, the contractors and the public officials who worked on these refinery repairs must account for this money. They must tell Nigerians what happened, and they must return the money.’’
According to him, if the new GCEO (of NNPC) does not pursue the money, then any reforms he brings are a waste of time and dubious.
“We need to get this explanation and money returned. We can’t allow people to be siphoning billions in the name of turnaround maintenance, and nothing is repaired,” Rafsanjani added.
