Former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo has faulted the promised made by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu concerning the Port Harcourt refinery and its readiness to work by December, 2023.
He said, “Someone told me Tinubu said refineries would work by December. I told the person the refineries would not work. This is based on the information I received from Shell when I was President.
“They will not work as long as the government is keeping hold of them. When I was President. I invited Shell to a meeting. I told them I wanted to hand over the refineries for them to help us (Nigerians) run. They bluntly told me they would not. I was shocked.
“……the MD said, did I want to hear the truth? I said yes. He listed out four reasons. One, he said Shell makes its money from upstream and that is where its interest lies. Two, he said they only do downstream or retails as a matter of service. Three, he said our refineries would be a bad business for them, that globally, companies are going for bigger refineries because of the economics of refineries. Four, he said there is too much corruption in refineries.”
According to Obasanjo, Aliko Dangote and Femi Otedola approached him and declared their interest in buying 51 percent stake in Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries. Both businessmen offered $761 million and paid in two instalments. Unfortunately, Umaru Yar’Adua (former President) cancelled the sale and returned the refineries to NNPC.
