Maire Tecnimont S.P.A, the contractor handling the $1.5 billion rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery, has rejected a formal request from prominent Nigerian lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, for the project’s completion date. Falana had filed the request under Nigeria’s Freedom of Information (FOI) Act to gain transparency on the long-delayed project, awarded in April 2021.
In a response dated Monday, Maire Tecnimont’s legal representative, Muyiwa Ogungbenro, stated that as a private company not controlled by the government, they were not obligated to disclose such information under the FOI Act. Ogungbenro emphasized that Maire Tecnimont does not perform public functions or use public funds, shielding the company from the legal requirement to reveal project details.
Falana’s original inquiry, made in September, expressed concerns over the pace of the rehabilitation. He cited the project’s three-phase timeline, which was to be completed within 18, 24, and 44 months. The rights advocate also warned that legal action would be pursued if the contractor failed to provide the necessary information.
