Aliko Dangote, Chairman of the Dangote Group, has cast doubt on the feasibility of reviving Nigeria’s state-owned refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna.
According to Dangote, these refineries, managed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, have received substantial investments totalling around $18 billion, yet they remain non-operational.
Dangote made these remarks during a visit by members of the Global CEO Africa program from the Lagos Business School to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lekki, Lagos. He highlighted the success of his refinery, which has a production capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, with more than half of its output allocated to producing petrol.
In contrast, Dangote noted that the state-owned refineries dedicated only about 22% of their production to petrol. He also recounted his experience in 2007 when his consortium acquired the refineries, only to return them to the government due to a change in administration.
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Dangote alleged that the former refinery managers had misinformed the new administration, claiming that the refineries were sold at a loss as a parting gift by the previous administration.
Dangote recalled how he and his team had to return the refineries to Yar’adua, a few months after former President Olusegun Obasanjo left office in 2007.
According to him, the former managers of the refinery had told Yar’Adua that Obasanjo sold the facilities below their costs as a parting gift to him.
