Alhaji Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group, has cast doubt on the future of Nigeria’s state-owned refineries, saying they may never operate efficiently again despite the government spending nearly $18 billion on rehabilitation. Speaking while hosting the Global CEO Africa group at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, he explained that the decision to build his own 650,000-barrel-per-day facility followed a missed opportunity under the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s administration.
Dangote revealed that he and a group of investors had previously purchased the refineries in 2007 when they were producing only 22% of the nation’s petrol needs. However, the acquisition was reversed by the incoming administration, which believed the refineries could be revived under state management. According to Dangote, despite the massive financial commitment over the years, the facilities in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna remain non-operational. He compared the attempted upgrades to fitting new technology into a 40-year-old car, saying even replacing the engine would not solve deeper structural limitations.
Echoing Dangote’s concerns, former President Olusegun Obasanjo also blamed systemic failure and corruption within the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) for the persistent state of disrepair. Obasanjo disclosed that Dangote and other investors had paid $750 million for the refineries before the deal was canceled by his successor. He recalled warning President Yar’Adua that NNPC lacked the capacity to manage the facilities effectively and predicted the refineries would eventually become worthless.
Obasanjo claimed that over $2 billion has been squandered in recent years alone with no results. He insisted that entities like Shell had already confirmed the hopelessness of reviving the refineries under current conditions. He praised Dangote for building a modern, functional refinery and expressed confidence that it will succeed where government refineries have failed.
