By Teddy Nwanunobi
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, has disclosed that the Federal Government intends to fund the $1.5 billion through funds from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), federal appropriation and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).
“Let me tell you how this rehabilitation is going to be funded – it is not going to be all debts. We are not going to borrow all the monies that are going into the rehabilitation (project).
“Some of the money will come from NNPC’s internally generated revenue – from NPDC, some of it will come from the federal appropriation, and just a little fraction will come from the African Export-Import Bank.
“The NNPC is going to spend about $200 million from its internally generated revenue sources, while the federal appropriation will put in about $800 million, and it is already broken down into three parts.
“The 2020 appropriation will give $350 million, 2021 appropriation will give another $350 million, and 2022 appropriation will give another $100 million, making it all $800 million from appropriation, and then, the rest of it will now come from Afreximbank,” Sylva revealed.
Nigerians have raised eyebrows over the funding for the project, with fears that borrowing for the rehabilitation would further mortgage the country’s future.
But the former governor of Bayelsa State’s disclosure in an interview with Channels Television has explained that borrowing will only form a part of the project.
During the interview, Sylva reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to completing the refinery’s rehabilitation, saying it would be functional within 18 months.
“Port Harcourt Refinery will work, and certainly within the next 18 months,” he said.
He also revealed that there are plans by the Federal Government to rehabilitate other refineries in the country.
He stressed that the move is not a waste of funds as believed in some quarters.
“There are plans to also fix the Warri Refinery and Kaduna Refinery, and then, we would get all those staff to work,” he added.
It would be recalled that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had, on March 17, approved the sum of $1.5 billion for the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt Refinery.
Many Nigerians have criticised the move, describing the amount as too much for the project.
But Sylva debunked insinuations that the rehabilitation could have taken less than N500 million.
“You see, Nigerians like to bandy figures. I can tell you, that that cannot be true. We are talking with the professionals,” he added.