By Muhammad Mamman
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has seized on the recent acknowledgment by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) that the costly rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery has failed to deliver value, saying it vindicates his long-standing call to privatize Nigeria’s state-owned refineries. 
Atiku’s comments, shared on his social media platform on Sunday, came after statements attributed to NNPCL’s top management acknowledged that efforts to revive the Port Harcourt facility — including $1.5 billion in rehabilitation expenditure — have not turned the plant into a commercially viable asset. 
“We have now seen that reopening the Port Harcourt refinery has been a waste of scarce resources. This belated admission confirms that continuing to pour public funds into moribund assets is unjustifiable,” Atiku said, renewing his endorsement of privatization policies for Nigeria’s downstream oil sector. 
NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer Bayo Ojulari has publicly described the state-owned refineries as operating at a “monumental loss,” with the firm halting operations to prevent further drain on public finances. Analysts and industry insiders note that Nigeria’s reliance on imported refined petroleum products continues to burden its foreign exchange reserves despite decades of investment in domestic refinery rehabilitation. 
Critics argue that repeated delays, mounting costs and under-performance at Port Harcourt and other government-run refineries have underscored structural inefficiencies and fuelled calls from some quarters — including organised private sector groups — for outright privatization or public-private partnerships to revive the country’s refining capacity. 
However, proponents of reform within NNPCL have said that partnering with experienced private operators could be part of future strategies to address technical and commercial challenges facing the sector. 
The debate over the best way to manage Nigeria’s refining assets — whether through privatization, public-private collaboration, or continued government oversight — is likely to intensify in the run-up to the 2027 general elections as political figures like Atiku leverage the refinery performance record to bolster their policy platforms. 
