Atiku: NNPC Should Have Privatised Refineries Before Rehabilitation

A former Vice President of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has faulted the plans by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) Limited to hand over the operation and maintenance (O&M) of the nation’s refineries, beginning with the recently rehabilitated Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) to private entities.

The 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was reacting to recent reports that the NNPCL is shopping for credible entities to take over the O&M) of the PHRC.

In  a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday, Atiku pointed out the NNPCL ought to have privatised  the refinery before rehabilitation to avoid the huge loan of US$1.5 billion said to have been expended on its rehabilitation.

He urged the NNPC to explain to Nigerians what informed its latest approach and its benefits to privatisation.

Atiki wrote: “I have always advocated for far-reaching reforms to reposition Nigeria’s oil sector and, indeed, other sectors of our economy.

“In particular, I had consistently called on the Buhari administration to break its monopoly in all infrastructure sectors, including the refineries, and give investors, both foreign and domestic, a larger role in funding and management.

“My position has been well laid out in The Atiku Plan (2018) and My Covenant With Nigerians (2022). But our suggestions fell on deaf ears. First, they refused to privatise the refineries. They left them idle for years while paying humongous staff salaries.

“Then, they contracted a loan of US$1.5 billion for rehabilitation.

“Now, the current administration wants to turn the rehabilitated refinery to private concerns for operation and maintenance!

“Without prejudice to the terms of the agreement between the NNPC and the private operators, it would undoubtedly have been better if the NNPC had sold the refinery, pre-rehabilitation, to avoid the burden of debt.

“The NNPC must explain to the satisfaction of Nigerians what benefits its newly discovered approach to privatisation will confer on Nigeria and Nigerians.”