President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has expressed strong skepticism over the prospects of Nigeria’s state-owned refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna ever becoming operational again—despite the government spending an estimated $18 billion on them over the years.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

According to reports, Dangote made the comments on Thursday while receiving members of the Global CEO Africa group from Lagos Business School at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lekki, Lagos, following a tour of the $20 billion, 650,000 barrels-per-day facility.

Dangote, whose refinery has already dedicated more than half of its output to Premium Motor Spirit (petrol), contrasted its performance with the now-defunct refineries previously managed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), which produced only 22% petrol at their peak.

Reflecting on his short-lived acquisition of the refineries during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Dangote recalled that he and his team took over the facilities in January 2007, only to return them months later following a change of government.

“We bought the refineries in January 2007. But after President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua came into power, we were forced to return them,” he recounted. “The then-managing director convinced President Yar’Adua that the refineries could still work. They claimed they were given to us as a ‘parting gift.’ Today, they’ve spent over $18 billion on them, and they’re still not working. Honestly, I doubt very much if they ever will.”

Dangote described the series of turnaround maintenance efforts on the refineries as fundamentally flawed, likening them to retrofitting outdated technology into an obsolete frame.

“Trying to fix those refineries is like modernising a car built 40 years ago,” he said. “Even if you install a brand-new engine, the body can’t absorb the shock of today’s technology.”

Obasanjo: NNPC’s Incompetence Rooted in Corruption

Dangote’s pessimism echoes the long-held position of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who has consistently criticized the NNPC’s handling of the refineries.

Obasanjo, speaking in both 2024 and January 2025, revealed that international oil majors, including Shell, rejected his request to manage the refineries, citing their lack of viability.

“I ran to Yar’Adua and told him this is wrong,” Obasanjo said. “He replied that NNPC said they could handle it. I told him, ‘NNPC cannot do it.’ I warned that the refineries wouldn’t work and that, eventually, no one would buy them even as scrap for $200 million. And that’s exactly what has happened.”

He further alleged that corruption within the NNPC was a major reason for the failed projects: “NNPC knew they couldn’t manage the refineries but wanted to maintain the corruption that was already entrenched. In a civilised society, those responsible would be in jail.”

Obasanjo also disclosed that over $2 billion has been wasted since then with no results to show, and questioned why the government had turned to Dangote if the public refineries were truly functional.

“If anyone tells you those refineries are working, then why are they now with Aliko?” he asked. “Aliko will not only get his refinery to work, he will deliver.”

Concluding with a Yoruba proverb, Obasanjo said: “They say a farmer who harvests 100 heaps of yam will also come back with 100 heaps of lies. That’s what this situation has become.”