EFCC says it has recovered ₦5 billion and $10 million from fraudulent refinery maintenance contracts.
Officials confirmed additional ₦10 billion and $13 million are still under active investigation.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has recovered more than ₦5 billion and $10 million from contractors and officials linked to fraud in the turnaround maintenance of Nigeria’s refineries in Port Harcourt, Kaduna, and Warri.
According to findings, the commission is also making efforts to retrieve an additional ₦10 billion and $13 million suspected to have been diverted by contractors handling the projects.
It was learnt that EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, is directly overseeing the probe due to his dissatisfaction with the continued non-performance of the refineries despite the huge sums spent on them.
Nigeria’s four refineries have remained mostly inactive for decades, with successive governments allocating billions of dollars to fix them. Yet, the facilities in Warri, Kaduna, and Port Harcourt have failed to deliver, leaving the country dependent on fuel imports.
Investigators are reportedly reviewing more than $1.55 billion set aside for the Port Harcourt refinery, $740 million for Kaduna, and $656 million for Warri. Sources within the agency revealed that irregularities such as inflated contracts, padded invoices, and dubious payments were at the center of the alleged fraud.
Former management teams of the three refineries have faced multiple interrogations, while some officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) have also been investigated. Insiders said the commission has completed parts of the probe and is preparing charges against those found culpable.
