Oil refineries - Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje has said that arrangements have been concluded to privatise the nation's oil refineries. Baraje who disclosed this to newsmen yesterday in Ilorin, Kwara State Capital, said the refineries had defied refurbishment with all the huge amounts of money already spent on them. He also stated that the Federal Government would build three new refineries in three geo-political zones of the country.

The new three refineries, he said, would be located in Kogi (North-central), Oloibiri (South-south and the third one in the North-east. The refineries, according to him, would be built from the proceeds of the proposed removal of oil subsidy.

"The new refineries to be built are meant to support the existing four in Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Warri", he added.

Baraje, who maintained that the refineries are supposed to be established before the withdrawal of oil subsidy, said that "the workings of government would make all arrangements go parri passu.

He said the contractors who built the existing refineries had been contacted to fully revive them in 18 months' time on a Private Public Partnership (PPP) basis.

Speaking further, Baraje said the government would change all damaged oil pipelines to make them functional for effective distribution of fuel to sources, when the refineries became fully operational.

He assured that funds accruable from the removal of oil subsidy would be channeled to special areas of development across the nation, noting that a committee headed by Vice President Namadi Sambo had been constituted to ensure effective utilisation of the funds for "execution of special projects so that the common man would have a feel of the benefit of the fuel subsidy removal".

Mustafa Abubakar

Daily Trust/29/12/2011