STILL ON THE PLANNED FEDERAL GOVERNMENT $1.5 BILLION TO REHABILITATE THE EPILEPTIC PORT HARCOURT REFINERY – ANOTHER ‘OVERBUDGETED’ PROJECT LADEN WITH DISHONESTY AND DRIVEN BY GREEDY GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
April 7, 2021 | News
With more response on my earlier write-up trying to dissuade the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government from wasting our collective wealth on any of the country’s moribund and dilapidated refineries, after reports revealed that the President Buhari-led Federal Executive Council (FEC) had approved a whopping $1.5 billion to rehabilitate the epileptic Port Harcourt refinery,
STILL ON THE PLANNED FEDERAL GOVERNMENT $1.5 BILLION TO REHABILITATE THE EPILEPTIC PORT HARCOURT REFINERY – ANOTHER ‘OVERBUDGETED’ PROJECT LADEN WITH DISHONESTY AND DRIVEN BY GREEDY GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
With more response on my earlier write-up trying to dissuade the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government from wasting our collective wealth on any of the country’s moribund and dilapidated refineries, after reports revealed that the President Buhari-led Federal Executive Council (FEC) had approved a whopping $1.5 billion to rehabilitate the epileptic Port Harcourt refinery, another concerned Nigerian, Pius Ogbeni, who is a retired Shell (SPDC) Staff, noted a very vital point about the subject matter, which I believe is worth being considered by every stakeholder and the Nigerian Government.
While expressing his anger and frustration with the Buhari-led Federal Government plans towards Nigeria’s refineries, Ogbeni noted that: “Nigeria Government people are very wicked. Are the Refineries older than Shell Flow Stations and the Terminals all over the country? They know what to do to upgrade the systems. But their greed and ‘thief thief’ mentality would not allow them to do the needful. Before I left the system, Shell did upgrade all their systems to Computer-Assisted Operations - CAO/SCADA.
“From my house, if on off duty, I can see the operations of all the stations in my computer. All the wells/ Flow Stations’ movements because I was given the password to log into my laptop through the Assistant of Mobitel phone network then. From the laptop, I can see the performance of all the Well-Heads flow status. Green normal flow blue not flowing to expectation, while a red well is shut down. The Flow Station is the same. Gas lifting, the same.
“In other words, if those refineries are contracted to Shell (SPDC) to repair and operate for five years, we won't be talking of these thieves in government and their proposed Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) that encourages so much thievery. When Dangote Refinery comes up now, fuel will be 300 per liter, watch it. Then they will come and tell you they can't do the TAM again. See cement now is about N5,000 per bag because only Dangote has the license to import cement. We are yet to unravel what the politicians are up to in Nigeria. Yesterday in Kogi State, some group came out with banners saying Buhari must go. They were beaten blue-black and were forced to eat the banner…”
With everything that has been said, and all that has happened as regards the so-called planned repairs of the nation’s moribund refineries starting with the one in Port-Harcourt, it is evidently becoming clear that the President Buhari-led administration is not being totally honest with the Nigerian people, as to what exactly are their intentions and plans. A lot of advice and solutions have been given and proffered by Nigerians, as to the best line of actions that should be taken to save Nigeria from this shame of being a nation that produces oil but yet imports all of its petroleum consumption needs. But it is like the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration already has its hidden plans and agenda with this move, which they have obviously made up their minds to actualize.
In my recent write-ups, I noted that, if the Federal Government of Nigeria should hand over the refineries to the International Oil Companies (IOCs) like Shell (SPDC), Chevron, Exon Mobile, to refine 50% of their production, you will see that this problem will be over. I once again suggest that the President Buhari-led Federal Government should hand over the refineries, as well those divested oil and gas assets in the Niger Delta region back to Shell to run/operate them without the interference of the NNPC/DPR, or any of their subsidiaries.
Another concerned Nigerian, Joyce Daniels, also said that: “Can we please lease/sell these refineries to big players in the private sector that know what they are doing, and can bring them back to life, and possibly convert them into income-generating facilities as they were built to be? Or we can just shut them down completely. Count our losses and walk away, and possibly use the funds to encourage those who have licenses for private refineries. At least as a country, we can together prosper more. But by all means, we have to change something.”
In the same light, yet another concerned Nigerian, Kesiena Gbemre, noted that with the planned ban on sales of all gasoline/petrol-powered vehicles by most European countries, including the UK, France, Canada, and some States in the US, plus the recent progress made in the electric vehicles industry; “Why then is the Federal Government of Nigeria about to invest $1.5 billion in rehabilitating a refinery?... It is counter-intuitive to invest such a sum in an evidently dying industry. It would be more pragmatic for the Federal Government of Nigeria to invest such valuable resources in RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS and the general efforts of providing SUSTAINABLE ENERGY for Nigerians.”
The above responses, and many more, are some of the reactions of Nigerians – reiterating the fact that this present administration has goofed with their plans to spend such a huge amount of public funds to repair a refinery. And from what has been said, the Federal Government and those in the NNPC and their subsidiaries, are not being honest with the Nigerian people as regards what they are really after with the said move. But whatever their plans are, they should be advised to listen to the voice of the people, whose interest they are there in Government to protect and project.
Zik Gbemre.
April 7, 2021
We Mobilize Others To Fight For Individual Causes As If Those Were Our Causes
With more response on my earlier write-up trying to dissuade the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government from wasting our collective wealth on any of the country’s moribund and dilapidated refineries, after reports revealed that the President Buhari-led Federal Executive Council (FEC) had approved a whopping $1.5 billion to rehabilitate the epileptic Port Harcourt refinery, another concerned Nigerian, Pius Ogbeni, who is a retired Shell (SPDC) Staff, noted a very vital point about the subject matter, which I believe is worth being considered by every stakeholder and the Nigerian Government.
While expressing his anger and frustration with the Buhari-led Federal Government plans towards Nigeria’s refineries, Ogbeni noted that: “Nigeria Government people are very wicked. Are the Refineries older than Shell Flow Stations and the Terminals all over the country? They know what to do to upgrade the systems. But their greed and ‘thief thief’ mentality would not allow them to do the needful. Before I left the system, Shell did upgrade all their systems to Computer-Assisted Operations - CAO/SCADA.
“From my house, if on off duty, I can see the operations of all the stations in my computer. All the wells/ Flow Stations’ movements because I was given the password to log into my laptop through the Assistant of Mobitel phone network then. From the laptop, I can see the performance of all the Well-Heads flow status. Green normal flow blue not flowing to expectation, while a red well is shut down. The Flow Station is the same. Gas lifting, the same.
“In other words, if those refineries are contracted to Shell (SPDC) to repair and operate for five years, we won't be talking of these thieves in government and their proposed Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) that encourages so much thievery. When Dangote Refinery comes up now, fuel will be 300 per liter, watch it. Then they will come and tell you they can't do the TAM again. See cement now is about N5,000 per bag because only Dangote has the license to import cement. We are yet to unravel what the politicians are up to in Nigeria. Yesterday in Kogi State, some group came out with banners saying Buhari must go. They were beaten blue-black and were forced to eat the banner…”
With everything that has been said, and all that has happened as regards the so-called planned repairs of the nation’s moribund refineries starting with the one in Port-Harcourt, it is evidently becoming clear that the President Buhari-led administration is not being totally honest with the Nigerian people, as to what exactly are their intentions and plans. A lot of advice and solutions have been given and proffered by Nigerians, as to the best line of actions that should be taken to save Nigeria from this shame of being a nation that produces oil but yet imports all of its petroleum consumption needs. But it is like the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration already has its hidden plans and agenda with this move, which they have obviously made up their minds to actualize.
In my recent write-ups, I noted that, if the Federal Government of Nigeria should hand over the refineries to the International Oil Companies (IOCs) like Shell (SPDC), Chevron, Exon Mobile, to refine 50% of their production, you will see that this problem will be over. I once again suggest that the President Buhari-led Federal Government should hand over the refineries, as well those divested oil and gas assets in the Niger Delta region back to Shell to run/operate them without the interference of the NNPC/DPR, or any of their subsidiaries.
Another concerned Nigerian, Joyce Daniels, also said that: “Can we please lease/sell these refineries to big players in the private sector that know what they are doing, and can bring them back to life, and possibly convert them into income-generating facilities as they were built to be? Or we can just shut them down completely. Count our losses and walk away, and possibly use the funds to encourage those who have licenses for private refineries. At least as a country, we can together prosper more. But by all means, we have to change something.”
In the same light, yet another concerned Nigerian, Kesiena Gbemre, noted that with the planned ban on sales of all gasoline/petrol-powered vehicles by most European countries, including the UK, France, Canada, and some States in the US, plus the recent progress made in the electric vehicles industry; “Why then is the Federal Government of Nigeria about to invest $1.5 billion in rehabilitating a refinery?... It is counter-intuitive to invest such a sum in an evidently dying industry. It would be more pragmatic for the Federal Government of Nigeria to invest such valuable resources in RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS and the general efforts of providing SUSTAINABLE ENERGY for Nigerians.”
The above responses, and many more, are some of the reactions of Nigerians – reiterating the fact that this present administration has goofed with their plans to spend such a huge amount of public funds to repair a refinery. And from what has been said, the Federal Government and those in the NNPC and their subsidiaries, are not being honest with the Nigerian people as regards what they are really after with the said move. But whatever their plans are, they should be advised to listen to the voice of the people, whose interest they are there in Government to protect and project.
Zik Gbemre.
April 7, 2021
We Mobilize Others To Fight For Individual Causes As If Those Were Our Causes