A Freedom of Information (FOI) request has been filed with the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited by a Lagos-based legal practitioner, Abdul Ganeey Imran, demanding details on the status of the four government-owned refineries in Nigeria.

The FOI request, addressed to NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer Mele Kyari, sought confirmation regarding the accuracy of the report from the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee on the state of refineries, which alleged that the Federal Government of Nigeria has spent a total of N11,350,000,000,000 (Eleven Trillion, Three Hundred and Fifty Billion Naira) on the rehabilitation of refineries from 2010 to date.

The request stated that If the figures being cited for the rehabilitation of the refineries are incorrect, the NNPC should provide the total amount spent on turnaround maintenance for the Kaduna refinery between 2010 and the present.

The letter, titled “Freedom of Information Request on the Status of the Four Government-Owned Refineries in Nigeria vis-à-vis the Recent Hike in the Price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS),” also requested the total amount spent on turnaround maintenance for the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries between 2010 and the present.

The letter reads: “I am a legal practitioner based in Lagos and the principal partner of Brown & Cooper Solicitors. The Punch editorial published on Tuesday, September 3, 2024 (under the heading ‘Scarcity: NNPC Constitutes Economic Danger, Sell It’) prompted me to conduct further personal research.

In the course of my findings, I deem it necessary to request the following information under the authority granted to me by the Freedom of Information Act, 2011: Kindly confirm the accuracy of the report from the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee on the State of Refineries, which alleged that the Federal Government of Nigeria has spent a total of N11,350,000,000,000 (Eleven Trillion, Three Hundred and Fifty Billion Naira) on the rehabilitation of refineries from 2010 to date.

If your response to the question above is that the figures provided by the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee on the State of Refineries are incorrect, please provide the correct figures, stating the total amount spent on turnaround maintenance for the Kaduna refinery, as well as for the Port Harcourt refineries in Rivers State and the Warri refinery, all between 2010 and the present.

Additionally, please include the annual refined products produced by each of the refineries in Nigeria. If the four refineries in Nigeria were fully operational at optimal levels, what would be the economic disadvantages, if any? If your answer to this question is negative (that is, there would be no disadvantages), then why do the four refineries remain moribund despite the trillions of Naira spent on them?” he asked.

He also sought clarification on the veracity of serious allegations made by various credible and renowned federal government parastatals against the NNPC. (Nigerian Tribune)