President Bola Tinubu’s administration has come under intense criticism after top officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) confirmed that Nigeria’s major refineries remain non-functional despite billions spent on rehabilitation.
On Thursday, Dangote Group President, Aliko Dangote, warned that the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries might never work again, even after about $18 billion was invested in turnaround maintenance. The next day, NNPCL’s Group CEO, Bayo Ojulari, admitted during an interview with Bloomberg that a strategic review of refinery operations was ongoing and that selling the assets was “not out of the question.”
Ojulari, who replaced Mele Kyari in April 2025, acknowledged that massive investments had yielded no results and blamed outdated infrastructure and obsolete technology. He indicated that the review might conclude before year’s end.
This revelation sharply contrasts Kyari’s repeated assurances that all refineries would be functional before ex-President Muhammadu Buhari left office in 2023. Opposition leaders and stakeholders now demand accountability.
Prominent voices, including the Obidient Movement’s Yunusa Tanko and the Coalition of United Political Parties’ Peter Ameh, accused the current and previous governments of deceiving Nigerians. They called for criminal probes into alleged corruption and billions wasted on failed maintenance. They warned that selling the refineries without safeguards could repeat the failures seen in Nigeria’s electricity sector after privatisation.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s earlier warnings resurfaced. He recounted how Shell refused to manage the refineries, saying they were beyond repair, and criticised the decision by ex-President Umaru Yar’Adua to reverse their sale to Dangote’s group in 2007. Obasanjo argued that the NNPC used the refineries as a conduit for corruption, insisting that those involved should face public trial.
Dangote echoed this sentiment, describing the refineries’ turnaround as futile, like trying to modernise a 40-year-old car that cannot withstand new technology.
Reactions were swift. Shehu Sani, a former Senator, said selling the refineries may be the “lesser devil” to stop further waste. Political economist Pat Utomi and SDP’s Dr Olu Agunloye agreed, blaming past administrations for ignoring clear signs that repairs were impractical. Agunloye noted it was an error to reverse Obasanjo’s privatisation.
Henry Okojie, Chair of the House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Midstream), insisted that Nigerians must have a say in the refineries’ fate, pledging a forensic investigation into potential fraud. He noted the paradox that citizens were told the Port Harcourt refinery had resumed full operation just months ago.
Despite the billions—$1.4bn for Port Harcourt in 2021, $897m for Warri, $586m for Kaduna, and over $396m spent between 2013 and 2017—the refineries remain idle. Critics say this exposes a deep culture of mismanagement and lack of accountability in the oil sector.
ADEOLA KUNLE
