‘I won’t jubilate yet’ — Wike reacts to approval of $1.5bn for Port Harcourt refinery

Nyesom Wike, governor of Rivers, says he won’t jubilate yet over the approval of $1.5 billion for the rehabilitation of Port Harcourt refinery.

On Wednesday, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari approved the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery.

Reacting to the development, Wike, while speaking on ‘Politics Today’, a Channels Television Programme, said approval does not mean that the fund for the rehabilitation has been released.

Wike noted that people of the state had heard a lot of promises and talks from the federal government that did not materialise.

“You want to say that because the federal executive council approved rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery for a sum of $1.5 billion and therefore I should be jumping and screaming or the federal government loves Rivers state as the refinery belongs to the people of the state,” he said.

“They have said so let us watch and see. Like you said, it is going to start immediately. We have had a lot of promises and a lot of talks and nothing has materialised.

“I do not want to say because they have said so and they have approved it. Approval is not released. Approval is not that the money has been released for rehabilitation. It takes a lot of processes.”

The governor said he will only wait for the outcome of the project and not going to jubilate because the federal government announced the approval of the rehabilitation of the refinery.

“Let us see whether they won’t talk about the problem of releasing of funds or because of this reason and that reason,” he said.

“So I’m not going to jubilate because the federal government said they have approved $1.5 billion for the rehabilitation of Port Harcourt refinery. I thank God, you said so but let us wait and see the outcome of it at the end of the day.”