President Bola Tinubu has insisted that Nigeria’s moribund Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries will eventually resume operations, despite former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s repeated doubts about their viability.
Tinubu said the facilities would return to work after undergoing structural and economic reviews, stressing that restarting them would not be enough unless they became profitable and delivered value to Nigerians. He also accepted responsibility for fixing the assets and liabilities inherited from previous administrations.
Obasanjo, however, has argued that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited cannot successfully manage the government-owned refineries. Drawing from his experience in office, he advocated private-sector participation, citing the success of the Nigeria LNG model and recalling failed attempts to attract Shell and other investors to operate the facilities.
The former President also said the refineries were too small, poorly maintained and affected by corruption. He recalled that Aliko Dangote had once offered $750m for a 51 per cent stake in two of the plants, but the transaction was later reversed by the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
Dangote has similarly criticised the government’s turnaround-maintenance approach, arguing that modernising decades-old facilities could present major technical challenges. Energy expert Dan Kunle also urged Tinubu to privatise the refineries, warning that previous administrations had repeatedly spent public funds on rehabilitation without making the plants profitable.
Kunle questioned why Tinubu believed he could achieve what successive governments had failed to accomplish, arguing that government resources could instead be directed towards education, agriculture, gas infrastructure and other sectors. He also raised concerns about accountability for the billions already spent on refinery rehabilitation.
Meanwhile, the Port Harcourt Refinery Host Community Bulk Petroleum Retailers Association backed Tinubu’s position and supported the proposed technical partnership between NNPC and Chinese firms. The association said more than 200,000 people depend directly and indirectly on the refinery and pledged to mobilise support for Tinubu if the facility becomes fully operational before the 2027 general elections.
