Niger Delta Group Supports FG On $1.5bn P/Harcourt Refinery Repair
ECONOMIC CONFIDENTIAL
The Niger Delta Non-Violence Agitators Forum has said the opposition to the $1.5bn proposed by the Federal Government for the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery is needless.
The organisation also said going to court to ensure that Delta State government was not shortchanged in the £4.2m looted by ex-Governor James Ibori could not be ruled out.
The National President of NDNAF, Wisdom Ikuli, said these in an interview in Abuja on the sidelines of a news conference to pass a vote of confidence on the Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva.
According to him, it was better to have the refinery rehabilitated due to the long-run benefit it would accrue to the country.
He advised the Delta State government to seek redress in court to ensure that the Ibori loot was returned to them.
Ikuli said, “Our going to court cannot be ruled out; by now, I expected the Delta State government to go to Court to pursue that matter. What are they waiting for? Let them go to court.
“Our stand about the purported Ibori loot is very simple. The money was looted from Delta State and justice demands that since the money was looted from Delta State, it should be returned to Delta State.
“There is no report anywhere that Ibori stole money from anywhere else or from the Federal Government. So, the government should return everything that was stolen to Delta State, not even a dime should be left out for the growth and development of Delta State which suffered the pain of that huge amount that was looted.
“When DSP Alamieyeseigha had problems, the money recovered from him was returned to Bayelsa State government. So, the case of Delta State should not be an exception.
“The $1.5bn to be spent on the Port Harcourt refinery is a positive omen. It is a sad development that we have this abundant crude oil that are shipped abroad and by the time they come, even the by-products are almost unaffordable for the ordinary. But by the time these refineries are working optimally, it would reduce the expenditure, especially in the midst of the harsh economic realities.