Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group, has raised serious concerns over the future viability of Nigeria’s state-owned refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna. Despite reportedly consuming around $18 billion in rehabilitation funds, Dangote believes the facilities may never return to full operation.
The industrialist made these remarks on Thursday while hosting members of the Global CEO Africa network from the Lagos Business School at the newly constructed Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lekki, Lagos.
During the visit, Dangote questioned the continued investment in the state-owned refineries operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), noting the lack of tangible progress.
“They have spent about $18 billion on those refineries, and they are still not working. I don’t think, and I doubt very much, if they will ever work,” he said.
Dangote also recalled his company’s earlier involvement with the refineries during the tail end of President Olusegun Obasanjo’s tenure in 2007. He revealed that although the Dangote Group acquired the refineries in January of that year, the transaction was reversed when President Umar Musa Yar’Adua assumed office.
He explained that the reversal occurred after the then-managing director of the refineries allegedly persuaded Yar’Adua that the acquisition was a “parting gift” from Obasanjo and that the government was capable of rehabilitating the refineries on its own.
“The refineries we bought in January 2007 were returned to the government because there was a change of administration. The MD at the time told Yar’Adua the refineries would work and that they were handed over as a parting gift,” HE said.
Highlighting the contrast between the state refineries and his privately-owned facility, the billionaire noted that while government refineries channel only 22 per cent of their production toward Premium Motor Spirit (petrol), his refinery—currently operating at a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day—allocates over 50 per cent of its output to petrol.
The remarks have reignited discussions around the long-standing inefficiencies and financial drain posed by Nigeria’s state-run refining system, even as the private sector-led Dangote refinery begins to reshape the country’s energy landscape.
