FG has been urged to sell Warri and Port Harcourt Refineries among others.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that the Director-General of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Segun Ajayi-Kadiri, has called on the Federal Government to fully privatise the nation’s four state-owned refineries, describing them as a major economic burden.
Speaking during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday night, Ajayi-Kadiri said the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries should be handed over to the private sector for improved efficiency, transparency, and productivity.
“If you ask me, the government should just sell these refineries. Give them to private sector people who will run them efficiently and deliver results. When something belongs to everybody, it belongs to nobody,” he stated.
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Although the Federal Government began efforts in 2024 to rehabilitate the refineries—with partial restoration at the Warri and old Port Harcourt plants—Ajayi-Kadiri insists these moves have yet to yield significant results due to continued government ownership.
He described the refineries as “a pure drain on the Nigerian economy,” lamenting that despite Nigeria’s abundance of competent entrepreneurs, the public facilities remain inefficient and financially unsustainable.
“We need to be honest with ourselves. Government ownership has not worked. We must encourage private sector participation,” he added.
Ajayi-Kadiri argued that privatisation would reduce corruption and promote accountability in the energy sector.
“It’s our natural endowment. Nigeria is the sixth-largest crude oil producer, yet we suffer fuel shortages. If you go fully private, it becomes difficult to steal or evade accountability. The current system encourages inefficiency and fraud,” he said.
He also called for broader reforms to support Nigeria’s manufacturing sector, emphasizing the importance of power infrastructure.
“The government should privatise all the other refineries and ensure that the ‘naira for crude’ policy is sustainable and well-funded. We must also address the inefficiencies in our power distribution network and attract serious investment into the sector,” he stated.
On fears that privatisation could lead to market monopolies, especially with the dominance of the Dangote Refinery, Ajayi-Kadiri dismissed such concerns.
“I don’t believe we are creating a monopoly. Those four government-owned refineries can be competitors—if they’re put in the right hands. We hear they’re working one moment, and then not. Let competent investors take them over,” he said.
Defending the removal of petrol subsidies, he said it was necessary to avert economic collapse. “If Nigeria didn’t stop the subsidy, the subsidy would have stopped or killed us,” he said.
Ajayi-Kadiri expressed cautious optimism about fuel price stability, predicting a potential drop in prices.
“It is going to be better. I see the price coming down to around ₦800 per litre, and that’s what manufacturers want,” he said.
He also highlighted insecurity as a critical barrier to industrial growth, stating that manufacturers spent over ₦2 trillion on alternative energy in 2023 due to unreliable electricity.
“This additional cost directly affects the price of goods and undermines productivity,” he concluded.
