FG Should Subject $1.5bn Planned Repair Of Port Harcourt Refinery To Debate – Peterside

Atedo Peterside, Founder of Stanbic IBTC Bank, has said the Federal Government should suspend its planned rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt Refinery, describing the $1.5 billion to be spent on the repair as “brazen and “expensive”.

Peterside made his position known in a Twitter post on Sunday.

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) had at its meeting last Wednesday approved the plan by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources to rehabilitate the Port Harcourt Refinery with $1.5 billion.

But Peterside insisted the planned rehabilitation should be subjected to a rigorous national debate.

According to the renowned entrepreneur and economist, many experts believe that the refinery should be sold in its current state to private investors with proven capacity to resuscitate it rather than government spending scarce resources on the facility.

FG should halt $1.5bn approval for repair of Port Harcourt refinery and subject this brazen & expensive adventure to an informed national debate. Many experts prefer that this refinery is sold "as is" by BPE to core-investors with proven capacity to repair it with their own funds

— Atedo Peterside (@AtedoPeterside) March 21, 2021