Dangote: Nigeria’s state fefineries are beyond repair despite billions spent.

By Our correspondent

President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has cast serious doubt on the future functionality of Nigeria’s state-owned refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna, stating they may never operate effectively again—even after an estimated $18 billion was funneled into their rehabilitation.

Speaking during a visit by members of Global CEO Africa to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, the business mogul revealed that his decision to construct his privately owned 650,000-barrel-per-day refinery stemmed from the federal government’s refusal to privatize the facilities during the administration of the late President Umar Musa Yar’Adua.

Dangote recalled that in January 2007, he and a group of investors had successfully acquired the refineries, which at the time were producing about 22 percent of Nigeria’s petrol needs. However, following a change in government, they were compelled to return the assets to state control based on assurances from officials that the refineries would be revived.

“Since then, about $18 billion has been spent on those refineries, and they are still not working,” Dangote said. “Honestly, I doubt they will ever function again. Trying to fix them is like attempting to modernize a 40-year-old car—it simply won’t deliver, even with a new engine.”

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo echoed Dangote’s concerns in a past interview, stating that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) was aware it lacked the capacity to manage the refineries, yet still blocked private sector participation. Obasanjo revealed that Dangote and his partners paid $750 million for the refineries before the deal was reversed by the Yar’Adua administration.

“I warned then that those refineries would never work under NNPC. I said when the government is ready to sell again, they won’t even fetch $200 million as scrap,” Obasanjo noted.

He also blamed entrenched corruption within the NNPC for sabotaging efforts to privatize the refineries and called for accountability over the billions spent with no productive outcome.

“If anyone claims the refineries are operational, why is the country now depending on Dangote’s refinery? His facility will work and deliver results,” Obasanjo added.