Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has declared that Nigeria’s state-owned refineries will never function effectively, renewing his criticism of the country’s management of the oil sector while linking it to broader governance failures and declining regional influence.
Speaking during a televised interview on Sony Irabor Live, Obasanjo said repeated efforts to rehabilitate the refineries under the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited have failed and will continue to fall short due to structural inefficiencies and corruption.
“The NNPC has refineries, and I said to people that it will never work,” he stated. “One of the lessons that I learnt is that PPP works.”
He pointed to the success of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas as evidence that private sector-led models deliver better outcomes than government-controlled ventures.
Obasanjo revealed that during his time in office, he attempted to involve Shell plc in managing the refineries, but the multinational firm declined after assessing the viability of the assets.
According to him, Shell cited several concerns, including the small size of Nigeria’s refineries, poor maintenance culture, and entrenched corruption.
“They said our refineries are too small… not well maintained… and there’s too much corruption around them,” he said.
The former president also revisited a controversial decision by his successor, Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, to reverse the sale of two refineries to a consortium led by Aliko Dangote.
“Aliko came and offered $750 million to take two of the refineries… they paid,” Obasanjo said. “But after I left, NNPC persuaded my successor to reverse it. I warned that eventually, those refineries would be worth scrap.”
He added that billions of dollars have since been spent on rehabilitation with little progress, noting that the amount is close to what was used to build a modern refinery like Dangote’s.
Obasanjo linked the mismanagement of the refineries to a wider pattern of governance failures, which he said has also weakened Nigeria’s standing in West Africa.
He accused the country of mishandling the Economic Community of West African States, warning that Nigeria’s influence within the bloc has significantly declined.
“Today Nigeria is not at the table. What is happening that Nigeria is impacting or influencing?” he asked. “Something that took us 50 years to build, overnight we mishandled it. And we have virtually destroyed it.”
His comments come amid ongoing challenges within ECOWAS, including political instability and the withdrawal of some member states following military coups.
Reflecting on Nigeria’s past leadership role on the continent, Obasanjo recalled the country’s support for liberation movements, particularly under Murtala Mohammed.
“During Murtala’s regime, we gave Angola $20 million… Nigerian Airways helped them have access to the outside world. We did the same with South Africa,” he said.
He also spoke about the 1976 assassination of Mohammed, attributing it partly to lapses in security.
“Murtala would not have been killed the way he was killed, if not for our naivety. He was driving himself around Lagos as Head of State. We believed we were doing what is right,” he added.
On security in the region, Obasanjo warned about the consequences of the collapse of Libya after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi, noting that armed fighters dispersed across the region, including Nigeria.
“Gaddafi recruited mercenaries from everywhere, including from Nigeria. When he was killed, many of them returned home with their weapons,” he said.
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