Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has once again declared that the refineries owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) will never be functional again. His remarks come as the NNPC continues its search for technical partners to operate the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries.
Obasanjo champions public-private partnership
Speaking during a television interview aired on Saturday night, April 25, by Sony Irabor Live, Obasanjo emphasized the effectiveness of public-private partnerships (PPP). He cited the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) as a successful model where the private sector holds 51 percent and the government 49 percent. “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,” he said.
Obasanjo contrasted this with the failures of other state-run enterprises, including the railways, the national shipping company, and the NNPC. He stated, “The NNPC has refineries, and I said to people that it will never work. And a man had the audacity to say, ‘Am I a chemical engineer?’”
Failed attempts to involve Shell
Obasanjo narrated his efforts to attract Shell to manage the refineries during his presidency. He recalled, “I called Shell. I said, ‘Look, please, I beg you, come and take 10 percent equity and run the refinery for us.’ They said no. I said, ‘Okay, if you don’t want to take equity, don’t take equity. Come and run the refineries.’ They said no.”
He then invited a top Shell official for a private conversation to understand their refusal. The official gave four reasons: First, Shell makes most of its profits from upstream operations, not downstream. Second, Nigeria’s refineries are too small—60,000 and 100,000 barrels per day—compared to the global standard of 250,000 to 300,000 barrels. Third, the refineries are poorly maintained by quacks and amateurs. Fourth, there is too much corruption surrounding the refineries, and Shell wanted no part of it.
Dangote’s offer and reversal
Obasanjo revealed that Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group, once offered $750 million for a 51 percent stake in two refineries. “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. However, his successor, the late Umar Yar’Adua, reversed the deal after Obasanjo left office, citing pressure from the NNPC.
Obasanjo confronted Yar’Adua, who admitted he knew the NNPC could not run the refineries but yielded to pressure. Obasanjo warned, “When you sell these refineries, you will not get 200 million dollars for them, because you will sell them as scrap.”
Current NNPC leadership speaks truth
Obasanjo praised the current NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, as the only NNPC head to tell the country the truth about the refineries’ condition. He also noted that the government has spent about $16 billion on the refineries, only $4 billion less than what Dangote used to build Africa’s largest refinery.
