“As of today, they have spent about $18 billion on those refineries, and they are still not working. And I don’t think, and I doubt very much if they will work.”
President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, says he doubts Nigeria’s state-owned refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna will ever function again despite $18 billion spent on them.
Speaking Thursday while hosting Global CEO Africa members at his Lekki refinery, Dangote said:
“As of today, they have spent about $18 billion on those refineries, and they are still not working. And I don’t think, and I doubt very much if they will work.”
Dangote likened turnaround maintenance to modernising a 40-year-old car:
“Even if you change the engine, the body will not be able to take the shock of that new technology engine.”
He recalled that his 2007 purchase of the refineries was reversed under President Yar’Adua, who believed NNPC’s promise they would work.
Calls to privatise the refineries have grown after repeated shutdowns despite huge spending, with critics labelling them a drain on Nigeria’s economy.