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Build 12 world-class hospitals with $1.5billion meant to renovate Port Harcourt refinery, Peterside Tells Nigerian Govt

Atedo

Atedo Peterside, the founder of Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, has said that the $1.5 billion (N600 billion) the Nigerian government wants to invest on the Port Harcourt refinery could be used to develop 12 world-class hospitals for $125 million (N48 billion).

On Thursday, Peterside said this on Twitter, advising the government to sell the refinery to investors who could renovate it with their own capital.

He cited the good core investor sales of Eleme Petrochemicals to Indorama and Nafcon to Notore as examples.

“The $1.5 billion earmarked by NNPC (Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation) for PH refinery reconstruction could be used to construct 12 world-class hospitals, each costing $125 million – two in each geopolitical region. The refinery could then be purchased and rehabilitated by private sector core investors using their own funds.

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“Why are you so quiet about all of the good core investor sales, such as Eleme Petrochemicals to Idorama or Nafcon to Notore, and so on? Discos were doomed from the start due to a variety of factors, including the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission lowering tariffs when an increase was needed,” 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.

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Ihesiulo Grace

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