ActionAid Slams FG On $1.5bn Spent On Port Harcourt Refinery
THECONSCIENCE NG reports that ActionAid Nigeria has called on the federal government to publish the full cost, scope, and schedule of the $1.5 billion Port Harcourt refinery overhaul.
The organisation also asked the federal government to explain to Nigerians why it was recommissioned in November 2024, only to be shut down about six months later for “planned maintenance.”
Addressing a press conference on Saturday in Abuja after a review of the country’s socio-economic and political landscape, the organisation’s General Assembly said that the contradiction raises concerns about incompetence, mismanagement, and lack of transparency.
The convener of ActionAid Nigeria’s General Assembly, Dr Steve Onya, said the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) must account for every dollar spent on the Port Harcourt refinery, as the public deserves clarity, “not press statements riddled with technical excuses”.
In the press statement read by the chairperson of the ActionAid Nigeria board of directors, Rabi Isma, the organisation also called on the federal and state governments to implement full fiscal autonomy for Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the country.
This, ActionAid Nigeria said, will ensure transparent and timely disbursement of monthly allocations and create citizen-led tools to track how LGA funds are utilized for community development.
The organization also called for immediate government action to tackle insecurity, economic instability, governance failures, and worsening social conditions.
While commending the federal government for signing the Tax Reform Act, a modest increase in GDP, and the declaration of a state of emergency on food security, ActionAid, however, said these measures had not translated into tangible improvements for ordinary Nigerians.
“Despite two years of the ‘Renewed Hope’ agenda, millions still face daily hardship. Insecurity, hunger, and inflation continue to rise. The government’s food security declaration has yet to lead to meaningful budgetary or strategic changes”, said Dr. Steve Onya
The organisation raised alarm over continued violence in the North Central region, particularly in Plateau and Benue States, where communities have been ravaged by deadly attacks and displacements, and condemned the lack of decisive federal action while calling for a full-scale security emergency to protect farmers and rebuild rural livelihoods.
The organisation also highlighted critical failures in education and health, citing the recent technical malfunctions during national exams, including night-time UTME sessions, as emblematic of deeper institutional decay.
In its recommendations, ActionAid called on federal and state authorities to reform national security to end widespread violence, military abuses, and suppression of civil protests, stop reckless borrowing, and increase local revenue transparency.
It called on the government to declare a security emergency in conflict-ridden states, expand food aid and livelihood support in conflict-prone and food-insecure zones, reform examination bodies, and protect student welfare.
“We demand that President Tinubu direct the prompt, complete, and unedited release of the NDDC forensic audit to uphold transparency and restore public trust and to reform military engagement protocols and investigate civilian casualties”, the organisation said.
ActionAid said the time for symbolic gestures and policy rhetoric has passed, urging both the federal and state governments to back words with real action.
“Transparency, accountability, and urgent intervention are not optional — they are the only way to reverse Nigeria’s current trajectory,” Dr Onya said.
