President Muhammadu Buhari has inaugurated the Dangote refinery, which will run on a 435-megawatt power plant, while the country’s four refineries remain moribund.
Development Diaries reports that African leaders were gathered in Lagos State, southwest Nigeria, to see the commissioning of a $19 billion complex built to revolutionise crude oil processing in the continent.
It is understood that the refinery, which is a 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) integrated refinery project, is completely off the national grid and has its own independent power plant (IPP).
According to Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), the Dangote refinery will add about $21 billion yearly to the Nigerian economy.
With the inauguration of the refinery, what then is the fate of Nigeria’s moribund refineries?
There are worries that Nigeria’s 445,000 barrels per day refineries may become outdated and difficult to market.
In 2020, a group of 15 civil society organisations (CSOs), which included CISLAC and BudgIT, asked the federal government to privatise Nigeria’s refineries and commit to the sustainability of the no-subsidy regime by articulating it into law.
Before winning the 2015 election, President Buhari promised to end fuel subsidies and fix the refineries in promises outlined in the All Progressives Congress (APC) policy document and manifesto.
These promises were also outlined in his 100-day pledge, speeches at campaign rallies, and town hall meetings.
However, with only seven days left to the end of his tenure, Buhari’s promises have remained a mirage.
It is regrettable that President Buhari opened the Dangote refinery after promising to rebuild the four state-owned refineries in Port-Harcourt (two), Warri, and Kaduna.
Nigeria imported $11.3 billion worth of refined petroleum products in 2021, ranking as the 18th largest product importer in the world.
Refined petroleum was also the highest imported good in Nigeria, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC).
Development Diaries calls on the incoming Bola Tinubu-led government to consider a public-private partnership to revive the nation’s moribund refineries.
Photo source: Dangote Group
