Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Allison – Madueke, yesterday at a sitting of the Joint Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources ( Upstream, Downstream and Gas) reiterated the resolve of the Federal Government to sell refineries to Private investors.
Mrs. Allison – Madueke stated this when she appeared before the Committee to defend her ministry’s 2014 budget in company with senior officials of the ministry and heads of agencies under her supervision, stressing that privatization of the nation’s refineries remained the best way to tackle the problems in the petroleum sector.
She also explained that the idea has been stepped down for now but would eventually be implemented at the appropriate time.
She, however, said that Federal Government was continuing with the rehabilitation of the refineries pending the time they would be fully privatized.
The minister said the process of privatization would have been concluded had the various trade unions within the petroleum industry not protested against the action.
“The way forward is the privatization of the refineries because government should not be involved in the business of fuel sales”, she said.
On the 2014 budget estimate of the Ministry, the minister said a total sum of N61 billion was earmarked for the ministry for both recurrent and capital expenditures, which according to her, is a billion above the 2013 allocation out which 50.2 per cent was released resulting into 87 per cent budget performance of the amount released.
According to her, the issues of funding, inadequate facilities, sabotage and vandalism, oil theft, oil spill all affected the nation’s resources in 2013 with the ministry’s budget breakdown of N60.9 billion appropriated, N50.4 billion for personnel cost, N1.8 billion overhead cost. N8.1 billion capital cost.