Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has extended an invitation to former President Olusegun Obasanjo to tour the Port Harcourt Refinery to verify its operational status.
The invitation follows Obasanjo’s remarks during a recent interview with Channels Television, where he criticized the management of Nigeria’s refineries. He recounted how the then-Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) rejected a $750 million offer from billionaire businessman Aliko Dangote to manage the Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries in 2007.
Obasanjo explained that Dangote’s team had proposed a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement, but the NNPC declined and refunded the payment.
“Aliko got a team together and they paid $750 million to take part in PPP in running the refineries. My successor refunded their money, and I went to my successor and told him what transpired. He said NNPC said they wanted the refineries and they can run it. I now said, but you know they cannot run it,” Obasanjo said.
Obasanjo served as Nigeria’s democratically elected president from 1999 to 2007 and as military head of state from 1976 to 1979.
The NNPCL’s invitation appears to be a response to the former president’s criticism, aiming to demonstrate progress in refinery operations.
RN
