A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has claimed that former President Umaru Yar’Adua cancelled the sale of the Port Harcourt Refinery to a consortium led by business mogul, Aliko Dangote, because it didn’t follow due process.
Recall that former President Olusegun Obasanjo had in an interview on Channles Television on Wednesday said that in 2007, an offer of $750 million was made by the consortium to manage both the Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries but was rejected by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company.
During the interview, Obasanjo disclosed that the Shell Petroleum Development Company, when approached to acquire the refinery, had raised concerns regarding corruption that could hinder the facility’s operations.
However, in a statement on Friday, Falana said the sale reversal was a critical step to address the legal and ethical breaches surrounding the transaction and to protect Nigeria’s national interest.
