The Federal Government on Thursday denied reports
that Nigeria had plans to build three refineries in Indonesia at the
cost of $2.68bn (428.8bn).On Wednesday, a respected
Indonesian newspaper, Jakarta Post, had quoted the director of the
Indonesian Ministry of Industry, Panggah Susanto, as saying that both
countries had reached an agreement for the state oil firm, PT Pertamina,
to buy crude oil from Nigeria and process it at the planned refineries.
The paper quoted Susanto as saying, “They (Nigeria)
wanted the refineries to be built in Nigeria. However, as Indonesia is
currently improving its downstream industry, Indonesia wanted the
refineries to be built here instead.” Susanto had told the Indonesian
newspaper that Nigeria eventually agreed to build the refineries in the
Asian country.
However, government denied the plan via a
statement issued by the spokesperson of the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation, Dr. Livi Ajunoma, in the name of the Minister of Petroleum
Resources, Dr. Diezani Alison-Madueke.
“The Federal
Government does not have any hand in this fictitious project. We want to
totally and unequivocally disassociate the Government from this and we
don’t know where this report emanated from. The Federal Government is
focused on its transformation agenda and committed to delivering on the
three Greenfield Refineries on schedule,” Ajuonuma said.
Before
the denial, the Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress and other
Nigerians had denounced the alleged plan and urged the National
Assembly to investigate the investments. Experts say a
plan by the government to build refineries in other countries will face
heavy opposition at home because of the country’s high unemployment rate
and the poor state of her four refineries. The state of the refineries
created a situation where government and independent marketers have had
to import refined fuel to meet local demands.
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