Energy expert Dan Kunle has urged President Bola Tinubu to privatise Nigeria’s four state-owned refineries, arguing that decades of public spending on the facilities have yielded little value and continue to burden the economy.
Energy expert Dan Kunjle has urged the federal government to privatise the four state-owned refineries operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
Mr Kunle made the call in an open letter to President Bola Tinubu on Sunday titled, “NNPC’s Four Diseased Fingers: The Refineries That Must Be Privatised.”
In the letter, he described the refineries—Port Harcourt Refineries I and II, Warri Refinery and Kaduna Refinery—as “four diseased fingers” that have drained public resources for decades without delivering reliable refining capacity.
He argued that continued spending on the refineries diverts scarce resources from critical sectors such as healthcare, education, infrastructure, security and electricity.
He cited the privatisation of the Eleme Petrochemicals complex under former President Olusegun Obasanjo as evidence that government divestment can improve efficiency, attract investment and create jobs.
Mr Kunle urged President Bola Tinubu to direct NNPC Limited to transfer the refineries to the National Council on Privatisation and the Bureau of Public Enterprises for a transparent and competitive privatisation process to be completed within one year.
He said the sale should include full disclosure of bidders, asset valuations, ownership structures and investment commitments, while allowing both Nigerian and foreign investors, including reported Chinese interests, to compete on equal terms.
The energy expert also cautioned against opaque asset transfer arrangements disguised as technical partnerships or memoranda of understanding, warning that such deals could trigger legal disputes and erode investor confidence.
He said the government should privatise, concession or liquidate the refineries where economically justified, arguing that such reforms would enable NNPC to focus on upstream operations while ending decades of waste.
Mr Kunle’s intervention comes amid ongoing investigations by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission into the alleged diversion of refinery rehabilitation funds.
“The time for endless rehabilitation has passed. The time for decisive reform has arrived. Mr President, this is a legacy decision. Privatise them transparently. Concession them transparently where appropriate. Liquidate those that can no longer be economically justified. Above all, let the law, openness and the national interest guide every decision. The Chinese are welcome to compete. Nigerian investors are welcome to compete,” the letter partly read.
Last week, PREMIUM TIMES exclusively reported that the EFCC recovered more than N38.66 billion, alongside several landed properties, during an investigation into funds released for the rehabilitation and turnaround maintenance of Nigeria’s refineries.
Investigators described the case as one of the agency’s largest probes into refinery rehabilitation spending.
Nigeria has four state-owned refineries with a combined installed refining capacity of 445,000 barrels per day—two in Port Harcourt with 210,000 bpd, the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company with 110,000 bpd, and the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company with 125,000 bpd.
Despite repeated rehabilitation efforts and billions of naira in public spending, the facilities have remained largely non-operational for decades.
PREMIUM TIMES also reported that the EFCC has charged the immediate past managing directors of the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, Ahmed Adamu Dikko and Jimoh Olasunkanmi Yisawu, with money laundering over the alleged diversion of funds earmarked for refinery rehabilitation.
As efforts to revive the refineries continue, the federal government and NNPC have pursued strategic investors and technical partners to improve domestic refining capacity.
In May, NNPC signed a memorandum of understanding with two Chinese companies to support the completion, operation and possible expansion of the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries.
Read the full Letter below:
NNPC’s Four Diseased Fingers: The Refineries That Must Be Privatised
An Open Letter to the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria
His Excellency
President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces
Federal Republic of Nigeria
State House
Aso Rock Villa
Abuja, Nigeria
Good Afternoon, Mr President, Sir.
With the utmost respect and humility, I write this open letter to Your Excellency.
This is my first open letter to you since you assumed office as President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
I have chosen to write now because I firmly believe that, after the Almighty God, the Creator and Sustainer of all things, the next greatest earthly responsibility rests on the shoulders of a nation’s President.
The office you occupy carries not only immense constitutional authority but also the sacred responsibility of making decisions that shape the destiny of millions of Nigerians.
It is from that deep conviction, and from my sincere love for our country, that I respectfully seek Your Excellency’s attention on a matter of profound national importance.
I write this as a patriotic Nigerian who still believes that leadership is sometimes proven not by what a President builds, but by what he dares to cut away.
You started by belling the cat through the removal of fuel subsidy and the liberalisation of the foreign exchange market, which no Nigerian President had ever succeeded in doing.
