Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has asked the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to discontinue any proposed deal for its refineries and sell the refineries.
In a statement reacting to recent comments by the group chief executive officer (CEO) of NNPC, Bayo Ojulari, that the company is discussing a potential partnership with a Chinese firm over one of the state-owned refineries, Abubakar said any deal, including with foreign partners, repeats failed models.
“The latest push to “revive” these refineries was driven by political pressure, not economic sense. Politics must never substitute for sound, transformative policy. Accordingly, any proposed refinery deal, including with foreign partners, should be discontinued, as it merely repeats failed models,” he said.
According to Abubakar, 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.
The former vice president pointed out that when he previously suggested the idea that the refineries should be sold, he was accused of plotting to sell the national assets to his “friends,” but now, the administration of President Bola Tinubu have embraced the idea.
“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. This belated admission validates my long-held position that Nigeria’s refineries should be privatised,” he added.
