Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has once again expressed deep scepticism about the possibility of Nigeria’s state-owned refineries ever becoming fully functional, insisting that years of failed attempts, corruption, and mismanagement have left them beyond effective repair.
Speaking in a televised interview on Saturday night on Sony Irabor Live, Obasanjo said his experiences in office convinced him that the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries would “never work” under government control.
He recalled making efforts during his presidency to attract private sector participation, including approaching global energy giant Shell to take over operations, but said the company declined the offer.
“I called Shell… I begged them to take equity and run the refineries for us. They said no,” he said.
According to him, Shell later explained that their focus was on upstream operations where profits were higher, while downstream refining was less attractive financially, especially given the state of Nigeria’s facilities.
Obasanjo also cited the small size of the refineries, poor maintenance culture, and corruption as major reasons investors stayed away. He said the facilities were too inefficient compared to modern global standards and were often poorly managed.
The former president further revealed that during his tenure, he nearly concluded a deal with Dangote Group to acquire a majority stake in two refineries for $750 million, describing it as a missed opportunity for reform. However, he said the arrangement was later reversed after he left office due to pressure from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC).
Obasanjo added that billions of dollars have since been spent on refinery rehabilitation with little to show for it, arguing that the country could have built more efficient facilities with such funds.
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“Only the current NNPC leadership has been honest about the true state of the refineries,” he said.
His comments come as the NNPC Limited continues efforts to revive the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries through new technical partners, with a target of completing the process by June 2026. Despite partial restarts in 2024, the facilities have struggled to operate efficiently and were later shut down again for further repairs.
Meanwhile, industrialist Aliko Dangote has also previously argued that the refineries may never function optimally again, reinforcing long-standing concerns about their viability.
The NNPC has yet to officially respond to Obasanjo’s latest remarks.
