Refineries Will Work Again, Make Profits — Tinubu Pledges Amid Failed $2.9bn Rehabilitation

President Bola Tinubu has assured Nigerians that the government-owned refineries will return to operation, but stressed that profitability must be central to the process.

Tinubu made the pledge on Wednesday in Abuja during a meeting with the leadership of the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers NUPENG.

The President said the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries would undergo a “firm reset and structural reworking” aimed at making the facilities economically viable.

“The refineries you mentioned are going to come back to work. We are just building a very firm reset and structural reworking of the oeconomics of it,” Tinubu said.

He argued that the mere appearance of production activity would not amount to success unless the refineries could operate profitably and deliver value to Nigerians.

“Ordinary flame and smoke of a refinery doesn’t mean that it is working until it is profitable and yields the value for which it was built,” he added.

Tinubu said he had accepted responsibility for the assets and liabilities inherited by his administration and would focus on making the facilities productive.

The assurance comes after years of government spending on refinery rehabilitation failed to produce sustained operations. About $2.9bn was approved for the rehabilitation of the three refineries under the previous administration.

The latest development has renewed concerns over the economic viability and management of the facilities. PENGASSAN President Festus Osifo recently said the refineries were shut because they were losing money, rather than because they were incapable of functioning.

Meanwhile, the Federal Ministry of Finance has faced questions over several financial issues contained in the 2021–2023 NEITI Oil and Gas Industry Audit Report.

Permanent Secretary Raymond Omachi told the Senate Public Accounts Committee that the ministry could not satisfactorily respond to some queries because relevant financial records were held by agencies including NNPCL and NUPRC.

The queries include a $3bn pre-export financing facility, $722.6m in NLNG dividends and interest, and about N200bn reportedly spent on refinery rehabilitation.

NEITI also questioned $221.283m in overhead costs incurred by NAPIMS.

Omachi said the ministry had engaged Arthur Andersen LLP to conduct a forensic audit and reconcile outstanding records.

However, the Senate committee questioned the repeated extensions granted for completion of the audit and urged the ministry to provide a clear timeline.

Omachi called for NNPCL and NUPRC officials to appear before the committee alongside the ministry to resolve the outstanding issues.