morganable politics/Governance
Tinubu, however, said his administration remained committed to making the facilities work, stressing that the ultimate objective was not merely to restart the plants but to ensure that they operate profitably.
KaNo —
President Bola Tinubu has rejected former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s pessimism over the future of Nigeria’s state-owned refineries, insisting that the Port Harcourt and Warri facilities, as well as the Kaduna refinery, will eventually return to productive operation.
Tinubu made his position known on Thursday when he received the Executive President of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, Salimon Oladiti, and other members of the union at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The President’s declaration represents one of his clearest statements on the viability of the three government-owned refineries, which have remained largely inactive for years despite several rounds of rehabilitation and billions of dollars reportedly committed to restoring them.
The statement also comes against the backdrop of renewed criticism from Obasanjo, who has consistently questioned the ability of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to successfully operate the government-owned refineries.
Tinubu, however, said his administration remained committed to making the facilities work, stressing that the ultimate objective was not merely to restart the plants but to ensure that they operate profitably.
“The refineries you mentioned are going to come back to work. We’re just building a very firm research and structural reworking of the economy of it. Ordinary flame and smoke of a refinery doesn’t mean it’s working, until it’s profitable and yields the value for which it is built,” Tinubu said.
“I am not a man who looks back because I have accepted the asset and liability of my predecessor, no matter what has happened in the years past. It is my responsibility now to fix it and make it work for the largest common value of our population. I take responsibility for that, and I’m going to do it,” he said.
Tinubu’s position contrasts sharply with Obasanjo’s long-standing argument that the government should not attempt to run the refineries directly.
Obasanjo Calls For PPP To Revive Local Refining
Obasanjo recently reiterated his position in an interview aired by Sony Irabor Live, where he advocated public-private partnerships as a more effective model for managing major government-owned assets.
According to the former President, the success of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas project demonstrated the benefits of private-sector participation in major national investments.
“One of the lessons that I learnt is that PPP works. Look, one project that has not been destroyed by the government in Nigeria is the NLNG, where the private sector has 51 per cent, and the Nigerian government has 49 per cent,” Obasanjo said.
He cited the Nigerian railways and the former national shipping company as examples of government enterprises that, in his view, had suffered from poor management, while also expressing doubts about the NNPC’s capacity to run refineries efficiently.
Obasanjo’s scepticism is partly based on his experience as President between 1999 and 2007, when his administration explored different options for transferring the ownership or management of the refineries to private investors.
He recalled that he approached Shell to take a 10 per cent equity stake in the refineries and manage them, but the oil major declined.
According to Obasanjo, a senior Shell official later explained that the company’s major profits came from upstream operations, while downstream activities were not considered as attractive.
The former President said the official also identified the small capacity of the Nigerian refineries, poor maintenance and corruption as major obstacles to their successful operation.
Corruption,Poor Maintenance Affecting Nigerian Refineries
He noted that some of the refineries had capacities of about 60,000 barrels per day and 100,000 barrels per day at a time when international refineries were increasingly operating at capacities of between 250,000 and 300,000 barrels per day.
He further disclosed that Aliko Dangote had offered $750m for a 51 per cent stake in two of the refineries during his administration.
“Until one day, Aliko came and offered $750m to take two of the refineries; that will be 51 per cent. I said, ‘Wow, God, you are really a God of miracles.’ I told Aliko to bring the money quickly. They brought the money, and they paid,” he said.
Obasanjo said the transaction was subsequently reversed by the administration of late former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua following pressure from the NNPC.
According to him, he warned Yar’Adua that the decision could result in the government losing significant value from the facilities because of their deteriorating condition.
Obasanjo also raised concerns over the amount of public funds committed to rehabilitating the refineries over the years.
The controversy surrounding the government-owned refineries has intensified as Nigeria seeks to reduce its dependence on imported petroleum products and strengthen domestic refining capacity.
Dangote Refinery Leading Domestic Refining
The development of the Dangote Refinery has also altered the country’s downstream petroleum landscape, with the privately owned facility emerging as a major player in domestic refining.
Dangote himself has previously expressed doubts about the ability of the NNPC-managed refineries to operate efficiently.
His position is partly informed by his group’s earlier experience with the government refineries. Dangote recalled that his group acquired the facilities in January 2007 but later returned them to the government following a change in administration.
According to him, the reversal of the transaction eventually contributed to the decision to establish his own refinery.
The businessman has also criticised the traditional turnaround-maintenance approach to rehabilitating the government refineries, arguing that attempting to modernise ageing facilities could create additional technical and operational challenges.
Despite the criticisms, Tinubu’s latest declaration indicates that his administration is unwilling to abandon the government-owned refineries.
For the President, however, restarting the facilities will not by itself constitute success. The refineries must operate sustainably, generate economic value and contribute meaningfully to Nigeria’s energy security.
The debate therefore goes beyond whether the plants can produce petroleum products again.
It centres on whether the government can overcome decades of poor maintenance, operational inefficiencies, funding challenges and management concerns to make the facilities commercially viable.
Tinubu’s administration will consequently face the challenge of translating its commitment into sustained production while ensuring that further public expenditure on the refineries delivers measurable economic returns.
