NNPCL’s $1.5bn Refinery Failure Justifies Privatisation, Says Atiku
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s admission that the $1.5 billion rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt Refinery failed reinforces his long-standing call for the privatisation of Nigeria’s refineries.
Atiku made the statement on Sunday via his official X account while reacting to comments by NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari. Ojulari had disclosed that the refineries were operating at a monumental loss and that continued operations were eroding value rather than creating it.
According to Atiku, the acknowledgment by NNPCL confirms that reopening the Port Harcourt Refinery after massive public spending was a waste of scarce resources.
“After gulping $1.5bn, NNPCL has now admitted that reopening the Port Harcourt Refinery is a waste of scarce resources. This belated admission validates my long-held position that Nigeria’s refineries should be privatised,” he said.
Ojulari had earlier explained that despite heavy spending on contractors and operational costs, the refineries continued to drain value instead of generating revenue.
Atiku argued that the revelation proves that continued investment of public funds in moribund refineries is economically indefensible. He criticised the payment of billions of naira in salaries to facilities that produce no fuel, describing it as wasteful and against the national interest.
He recalled that his calls for privatisation were often criticised, with allegations that he wanted to sell public assets to associates. However, he said the latest admission by NNPCL shows that his position was correct.
“For years, I advanced this patriotic position and was vilified. Today, the facts have caught up with the rhetoric,” he added.
The former vice president noted that decades of turnaround maintenance had consumed billions of dollars without yielding results, exposing deep weaknesses in technical capacity and financial discipline. He said the most recent rehabilitation effort appeared to be driven more by political pressure than sound economic reasoning.
Atiku urged the federal government to halt further refinery arrangements, including those involving foreign partners, arguing that they replicate approaches that have already failed.
“Nigeria would have been better served by selling the refineries before rehabilitation to avoid ballooning debt and the steady depreciation of what have effectively become liabilities,” he said.
