Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has revealed that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) rejected a $750 million offer from billionaire businessman Aliko Dangote to manage Nigeria’s Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries in 2007.
Obasanjo made this revelation during an exclusive interview with Channels Television, where he shared insights into the challenges surrounding Nigeria’s struggling refineries.
The former president explained that the NNPC, now operating as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), was aware of its limitations in managing the nation’s refineries but still rejected Dangote’s offer.
He also said he sought external help to rehabilitate and manage the facilities but faced resistance.
“When I was president, I wanted to do something about the three refineries we have: Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna. Aliko got a team together after I asked Shell to come and run it for us. And Shell said they wouldn’t,” Obasanjo said.
“Later on, I called them. I called the boss of Shell to come and tell me what the problem was and he gave me four or five reasons.
“He (Shell boss) said, first of all, they make a major profit from upstream, not from downstream. He said they run downstream just to keep their head above water.
“Two, our refineries were too small: 60,000 barrels, 100,000 barrels and I think 120,000 barrels. He said that at that time, the average refinery was going for 250,000 barrels.
“Three, he said our refineries were not well maintained. Four, he said that there was too much corruption around the activities of our refinery and they would not want to get involved in that.
“After that, Aliko got a team together and they paid $750m to take part in PPP (Public–Private Partnership) in running the refineries.
“My successor refunded their money and I went to my successor and told him what transpired.
“He said NNPC said they wanted the refineries and they could run it. I now said but you know they cannot run it.”
Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was Obasanjo’s successor.
The former president also said he is confident in Dangote’s ability to manage his privately owned refinery effectively, contrasting it with the government’s inefficiency.
Obasanjo also expressed frustration over the mismanagement of the refineries, adding that despite the amount spent on them since 2007 no results have been made.
“I was told not too long ago that since that time, more than $2 billion have been squandered on the refinery and they still will not work,” he said.
“If a company like Shell tells me what they told me, I will believe them. But here we are, over $2 billion squandered, and the refineries still won’t work.”
On December 31, 2024, the NNPCL announced that the 125,000-barrel-per-day Warri Refining & Petrochemicals Company (WRPC) in Warri, Delta State, is now operational.
Mele Kyari, the group chief executive officer (GCEO) of the NNPC who made this known said; “This plant is running. We have not completed 100 per cent, we are steaming the other part of the plant as we progress. Currently, this plant is running. There are many people who don’t think this is real.
“People don’t believe that real things can happen in our country. We believe that this is a source of pride for our country. I just want you to know that everything you see is real.”
On November 26, the NNPC said the Port Harcourt refinery had officially commenced crude oil processing.
