Sell P’Harcourt refinery or let’s debate, Peterside tells FG

ENTREPRENEUR and banker, Atedo Peterside, has aligned his view with that of former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar and some other people he referred to as “experts” that the Federal Government should privatise refineries across the country instead of wasting money from the national coffers on them.

Peterside said this in reaction to the Federal Government’s move to spend $1.5billion to repair the Port Harcourt refinery.

The businessman made his view known on his official Twitter handle today.
Peterside, who described the plan as a brazen and expensive adventure, asked the government to use the people as sounding board for the plan by subjecting it to an “informed national debate.”

“FG should halt $1.5bn approval for repair of Port Harcourt refinery and subject this brazen & expensive adventure to an informed national debate,” Peterside tweeted.

“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,” he added.

Many Nigerians have condemned the move to spend the huge fund on the 32 year-old refinery.

Some have asked the government to use the money more judiciously by building a new refinery.

The Port Harcourt refinery has been epileptic, despite several expensive repairs.

In a report last year, the NNPC said the three refineries in Nigeria gobbled N10.23 billion in salary expenses.