The founder of Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, Atedo Peterside, has said the $1.5 billion (about N600 billion) the Nigerian government plans to spend on the Port Harcourt refinery can be used to build 12 world-class hospitals at $125 million (N48 billion) each.
Peterside said this on his Twitter page on Thursday while advising the government to sell the refinery to investors that could revamp it with their own funds.
He gave an example of a successful core investor sales like Eleme Petrochemicals sold to Indorama and Nafcon sold to Notore.
“The $1.5 billion earmarked for PH refinery rehabilitation by NNPC (Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation) could build 12 world-class hospitals costing $125 million each – 2 in each geopolitical zone. We could then allow private sector core investors to purchase the refinery and rehabilitate it with their own funds.
“Why are you silent on all the numerous successful core investor sales such as Eleme Petrochemicals sold to Idorama or Nafcon sold to Notore, etc? Discos were sabotaged from the onset by a variety of factors including Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission lowering tariffs at a time when an increase was required,” he tweeted.
Peterside berated the government for planning to rehabilitate the refinery with that huge amount of money when the country’s healthcare is in a bad state, especially after COVID-19 had exposed the weakness in the sector.
The founder of Anap Foundation has joined other eminent Nigerians such as the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and ex-Kogi senator, Dino Melaye who had criticised the proposed plan of the Nigerian government in spending such whopping amount of money on the refinery that is moribund and non-functional.
