Index to Nigerian Newspapers

The Senate has raised an ad hoc committee to investigate all the contracts awarded for the rehabilitation of all state-owned refineries said to have gulped N11.35tn in 13 years. It also mandated the panel to interrogate the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited and the Bureau of Public Enterprises on the best approach to commercialise state-owned refineries. The Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau, who presided over the plenary, named Senator Isah Jibrin Echocho as the chairman of the committee. The committee was given four weeks to submit its report. Nigeria's four refineries in Kaduna, Warri and Port Harcourt had become moribund for years despite a series of repairs executed under various turnaround maintenance contracts that have gulped huge amounts. Senators, in their various contributions, said the country could not continue to spend money on an unproductive venture and urged the relevant authorities to ensure that those responsible for the state of the refineries were sanctioned.