Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has stated that the refineries owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited will never work again.
He made the remark while assessing Nigeria’s long struggle with domestic crude oil refining capacity.
Obasanjo said his position is based on personal experience with multiple attempts to revive the refineries during his administration.
According to him, successive governments have spent billions of dollars on turnaround maintenance without tangible results.
He noted that despite the huge sums committed, the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries remain largely non-functional.
Obasanjo recalled that when he was President, he invited Shell to run the refineries and bring in private-sector efficiency.
Shell, he said, declined the offer after conducting technical and commercial evaluations of the facilities.
The company reportedly told him the refineries were too far gone and would not be commercially viable to operate.
Obasanjo said Shell’s verdict was that the technology was obsolete and the corrosion levels were beyond redemption.
He also disclosed that Aliko Dangote later offered to buy the refineries for $750 million during his tenure.
According to him, the bid was rejected by the succeeding administration, which returned the money to Dangote.
Obasanjo argued that the NNPC knew the refineries could not work but continued to mislead Nigerians and governments.
He described the repeated turnaround maintenance contracts as a drainpipe for public funds with no accountability.
The former President said he is convinced the refineries are now so damaged that no amount of repairs can restore them.
He pointed out that even if crude is supplied, the plants cannot process it efficiently due to structural decay.
Obasanjo stressed that the problem is not just technical but also managerial and political.
He alleged that vested interests benefit from the refineries’ moribund state, especially those involved in fuel importation.
According to him, as long as Nigeria imports refined products, certain groups will resist any true reform of the refineries.
He said the only time the refineries will appear to “work” is on paper to justify further budgetary allocations.
Obasanjo insisted that the solution lies in total divestment and allowing competent private investors to build new ones.
He cited the Dangote Refinery as proof that private-sector-led refining can succeed where government control has failed.
The former President maintained that keeping NNPC in charge of refining is prolonging a failed experiment.
He advised that Nigeria should stop wasting resources on facilities that cannot deliver value to the economy.
Obasanjo concluded that until government officials face the truth, the country will keep losing money to non-performing refineries.
He warned that without decisive action, the cycle of spending and disappointment will continue indefinitely.
