Dangote’s $750m Offer: How Obasanjo’s Refinery Privatisation Plan Was Scuttled

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has shed light on the botched attempt to privatise Nigeria’s refineries during his presidency, revealing that Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, had offered $750 million to manage the facilities through a public-private partnership.

However, the offer was rejected by Obasanjo’s successor, who opted to have the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) manage the refineries instead.

Obasanjo recounted his efforts to rehabilitate and manage the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries, but faced resistance from Shell, which cited four main reasons for its refusal.

“They make a major profit from upstream, not from downstream, Our refineries were too small. They were not well maintained and there was too much corruption around the activities of our refinery,” Obasanjo quoted Shell as saying.

He expressed confidence in Dangote’s ability to manage his privately owned refinery effectively, contrasting it with the government’s inefficiency.