The Nigerian Senate has appointed Ned Nwoko, representing Delta North, as the new chairman ad-hoc committee investigating the N11.35 trillion spent on the turnaround maintenance of Nigeria’s refineries from 2010 to date.
Nwoko replaces the late Senator Ifeanyi Ubah, who chaired the committee until his passing in July 2024.
Ubah was assigned the role after defecting from the Young Progressives Party (YPP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Senate.
Senator Sunday Karimi (APC, Kogi West), while presenting a motion on the Senate floor last year said the Nigerian government spent an estimated N11.35 trillion (N11,349,583,186,313.40), in addition to $592,976,050, €4,877,068.47, and £3,455,656.93 on turn around maintenance of refineries yet most of them remain unproductive.
Karimi, who also chairs the Senate Services Committee, noted that despite their non-functionality, the refineries have continued to incur operational costs estimated at N4.8 trillion. In response, the Senate resolved to set up the ad hoc committee to investigate the matter and prevent further waste of public resources.
Editor Oloyede Owor
