By: Sunday Ameh
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has again expressed doubts over the future of Nigeria’s state-owned refineries, declaring that the facilities operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited “will never work.”
Obasanjo made the remarks during an interview aired on Sony Irabor Live on Saturday night, as the NNPC continues efforts to secure technical partners for the Port Harcourt Refinery, Warri Refinery and Kaduna Refinery.
He said public-private partnership remained a more effective model for managing major national assets, citing the success of Nigeria LNG Limited.
“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,” he said.
The former president said he had previously approached Shell plc to take over the management of the refineries during his administration, but the company declined.
According to him, Shell cited low profitability in downstream operations, the relatively small size of the refineries, poor maintenance culture and corruption concerns as reasons for rejecting the proposal.
Obasanjo said, “They said our refineries are too small. One is 60,000 barrels and another is 100,000 barrels. He said refineries at that time were in the range of 250,000 barrels to 300,000 barrels.
“He said our refineries are not well-maintained. We call quacks and amateurs to come and maintain our refineries. The refineries are not in good order. He said there’s too much corruption around our refineries, and they don’t want to be part of that.”
He further disclosed that billionaire businessman Aliko Dangote had once offered $750m to acquire 51 per cent stakes in two of the refineries during his tenure.
“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,’” Obasanjo said.
He, however, alleged that the deal was reversed by his successor, late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua following pressure from NNPC officials.
Obasanjo claimed Nigeria has now spent about $16bn on refinery rehabilitation, noting that the amount is close to what Dangote used to build the Dangote Refinery.
In November 2025, the NNPC announced plans to conclude the selection of technical partners for the refineries by June 2026.
The current Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC, Bayo Ojulari, had also admitted that despite rehabilitation efforts and temporary reopening of the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries in 2024, the facilities were operating below international standards.
The NNPC had yet to officially respond to Obasanjo’s latest comments as of the time of filing this report.
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