Atiku slams Refinery Revival as Waste after $1.5bn spent

By Amofokhai Williams

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has launched a fresh critique of Nigeria’s refinery policy, declaring that the reopening of the Port Harcourt Refinery is a “waste of scarce resources” after years of heavy public spending with no tangible output.

Atiku’s reaction followed what he described as an admission by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) that the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt Refinery, after consuming about $1.5 billion, had failed to deliver value.

“After gulping $1.5bn, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has now admitted that reopening the Port Harcourt Refinery is a waste of scarce resources,” Atiku said.

“This belated admission validates my long-held position that Nigeria’s refineries should be privatised.”

The former presidential candidate said the development confirmed his long-standing argument that continued public investment in state-owned refineries was economically unjustifiable, especially when such facilities were not producing petrol.

“It is instructive that the Tinubu administration has finally come to terms with an inevitable truth: pouring public funds into moribund refineries is economically indefensible,” he said, adding that “Paying billions in salaries to facilities that produce not a single litre of petrol does not serve the national interest.”

Atiku recalled that his advocacy for privatisation in the past had drawn strong criticism and accusations that he intended to sell public assets to political allies. According to him, recent events have vindicated his stance.

“For years, I advanced this patriotic position and was vilified and accused of plotting to sell public assets to ‘friends,’” he said, saying “Today, the facts have caught up with the rhetoric.”

He argued that decades of repeated turnaround maintenance had drained billions of dollars without results, exposing what he described as systemic weaknesses in capacity, technical competence and financial discipline within the public refinery system.

“Decades of so-called turnaround maintenance have swallowed billions of dollars with nothing to show for it,” Atiku said, adding that the failures highlighted “deep deficits in capacity, technical know-how, and financial discipline.”

The former vice president further criticised the most recent attempts to revive the refineries, insisting they were driven more by political considerations than economic logic.

“The latest push to ‘revive’ these refineries was driven by political pressure, not economic sense,” he said.

“Politics must never substitute for sound, transformative policy.”

Atiku warned against pursuing new refinery arrangements, including partnerships with foreign firms, arguing that such moves would only recycle approaches that had already failed.

“Accordingly, any proposed refinery deal, including with foreign partners, should be discontinued, as it merely repeats failed models,” he said.

He maintained that Nigeria would have been better served by selling the refineries before embarking on costly rehabilitation projects, noting that continued delays had only increased debt and reduced the value of the assets.

“Nigeria would have been better served by selling the refineries pre-rehabilitation to avoid ballooning debt and the steady depreciation of what have effectively become liabilities,” Atiku said.