The House of Representatives will investigate a $35 million investment in a Bayelsa modular refinery that never materialised.
The Atlantic International Refinery, planned for Brass, aimed to boost local industry and encourage modular refineries in the Niger Delta.
House Probes Bayelsa Missing Modular Refinery Funds
In 2020, the NCDMB invested $35 million under Buhari’s administration to support national development, but developers left the site empty.
During Wednesday’s plenary, Edo State lawmaker Billy Osawuru moved a motion, emphasising the scale of the lost funds.
He explained that $35 million, over ₦50 billion, could have funded major national projects, yet the project produced nothing.
Petition Ignored By Authorities
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Moreover, Osawuru recalled that a stakeholder petitioned the EFCC in May 2024, urging it to investigate the missing investment, but authorities ignored it.
Lawmakers expressed concern that the refinery’s inactivity highlights serious weaknesses in governance, oversight, and transparency in public spending.
Committees Tasked To Investigate
Consequently, they instructed petroleum committees to examine how NCDMB spent the funds and why the project never advanced.
Finally, Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu gave the committees four weeks to report findings, signalling that the legislature intends to uncover mismanagement.
