Opposition leaders on Saturday criticised President Bola Tinubu’s administration following remarks by the leadership of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, which cast serious doubt on the viability of the country’s refineries despite the billions invested in their rehabilitation.
On Thursday, the President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, stated that the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries might never resume operations, even after about $18bn had been spent on their turnaround.
On Friday, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPCL, Bayo Ojulari, echoed similar concerns, revealing that the company was now considering selling off the refineries as years of rehabilitation had failed to yield meaningful results due to the facilities’ outdated status.
Ojulari made the disclosure in an interview with Bloomberg in Vienna, Austria, noting that the country had invested heavily without any tangible outcome.
Reacting in separate interviews with our correspondents on Saturday, some opposition leaders tackled the Tinubu administration, demanding a thorough criminal investigation into the alleged corruption linked to the failed turnaround maintenance of the refineries.
They argued that the government cannot simply move on without identifying and prosecuting those responsible for the massive losses.
The leaders also accused both the current administration and its predecessor under Muhammadu Buhari of misleading Nigerians about the operational status of the refineries.
While acknowledging the failure of government-led public asset management, they warned that selling the refineries without strict safeguards could lead to a repeat of the underperformance seen in the power sector after the privatisation of the electricity distribution companies.
Ojulari took over from Mele Kyari as the GCEO of the NNPCL on April 2, 2025, following an appointment by President Bola Tinubu. The new NNPC helmsman’s approach brings a shift in tone from the previous leadership.
In 2019, Kyari had assured Nigerians that the NNPC would deliver the country’s four refineries before the end of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure on May 29, 2023.
However, Ojulari’s comments on Thursday stood in sharp contrast to those of his predecessor.
Speaking with Bloomberg at the 9th OPEC International Seminar, he revealed that a strategic review of NNPC’s refinery operations was ongoing and expected to be concluded before the end of the year.
“We’re reviewing all our refinery strategies now. We hope before the end of the year, we’ll be able to conclude that review. That review may lead to us doing things slightly differently,” he said.
When asked whether the review could lead to selling off the refineries, Ojulari responded, “What we’re saying is that sale is not out of the question. All the options are on the table, to be frank, but that decision will be based on the outcome of the reviews we’re doing now.”
Echoing sentiments shared by Dangote, Ojulari attributed some of the setbacks to obsolete infrastructure and underperforming technologies.
“We made quite a lot of investments over the last several years and brought in a lot of technologies, but we’ve been challenged. Some of those technologies have not worked as we expected so far. But also, as you know, when you’re refining a very old refinery that has been abandoned for some time, what we’re finding is that it’s becoming a little bit more complicated,” he explained.
