Top officials barred from travel amid Nigeria's $2.9 billion oil refinery fraud
Rehabilitation of Nigerian refineries has turned into a shocking scandal.
Passports of officials accused of mismanaging funds for refinery reconstruction confiscated by Nigerian Immigration Service.
EFCC made arrests in connection with mismanagement of $2,956,872,622.36.
In a recent development, the Nigerian Immigration Service confiscated the passports of multiple officials accused of mismanaging funds set aside for the reconstruction of the Port Harcourt Refining Company, Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company, and Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Companies.
'We received 16 names some days ago with instructions to flag them. This means they should not be allowed to travel out of the country,' an anonymous source within the Nigerian Immigration Service revealed.
The repair of these facilities drew widespread attention last year after news surfaced that the government had made significant progress in restoring facilities that had been inoperable for decades.
However, the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) recently made arrests in connection with the mismanagement of $2,956,872,622.36, which was intended to be used to restore the refineries to full operation.
As per a report by the Punch, the EFCC was looking into the distribution of $656,963,938 to the Warri refinery, $740,669,600 to the Kaduna refinery, and $1,559,239,084.36 to the Port Harcourt refinery.
'Some have been arrested already, and we are still on the lookout for others. Nigerians are interested in seeing our refineries work. We are asking: where is the money, and what has happened to the refineries?' an anonymous EFCC official stated.
Rehabilitation plans for Nigeria's oil refineries in recent years
In August 2023, the Nigerian government disclosed that it planned to have all four of its oil refineries operational after being out of order for decades.
Many assessed that the move was in response to the Dangote refinery, which at the time threatened to control a monopoly of all locally refined fuel.
Prior to the inauguration of the Dangote Refinery, Nigeria, Africa's largest oil producer, imported almost all of its refined petroleum needs, owing to limited capacity and poor maintenance of its refineries.
The 110,000-barrel Kaduna plant in the north, as well as three facilities in the oil-rich Niger delta, including the 125,000-barrel Warri refinery, are among four dilapidated state-owned refineries that used to produce 4450,000 barrels per day in total.
The Port Harcourt refinery in 2023 was said to be undergoing a $1.5 billion makeover after Italy's Tecnimont was awarded the contract for the work.
The oil ministry estimated that the renovation would take 44 months to complete.
Fast forward to a year later, and the conversations had pivoted from rehabilitation to operational.
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