…Why Yar’Adua Reversed the Controversial Sale of PH Refinery to Dangote-Led Consortium
Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has revealed how former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s controversial sale of the Port Harcourt Refinery to a consortium led by Dangote Oil was reversed by the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
In a statement on Friday, Falana accused Obasanjo of selling a 51% stake in the refinery to Bluestar Oil, a consortium comprising Dangote Oil, Zenon Oil, and Transcorp, for $561 million, in a deal marked by alleged selfishness and disregard for due process.
He also noted that Obasanjo sold a similar stake in the Kaduna Refinery to Bluestar Oil for $160 million just days before leaving office in 2007.
Falana alleged that Obasanjo’s involvement in Transcorp through “blind trust” created a glaring conflict of interest, fueling nationwide criticism.
He added that Obasanjo sidelined then-Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who was statutorily the Chairman of the National Council on Privatisation (NCP), and personally oversaw the sales of major national assets.
“The sale of the refineries raised questions about the legality and morality of the transactions, as they were consummated in the twilight of Obasanjo’s administration,” Falana said.
The deals sparked outrage from oil industry unions — the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).
The unions embarked on a four-day strike in June 2007, arguing that the sales shortchanged the nation.
They claimed that the Port Harcourt Refinery, sold for $561 million, was worth over $5 billion.
In response to public outcry and union pressure, Yar’Adua ordered an investigation into the transactions.
Falana noted that the investigation confirmed that the deals were not in the national interest, leading to their eventual cancellation.
Falana further criticized the renewed push for the privatisation of Nigeria’s refineries, urging NUPENG and PENGASSAN to continue their fight against any plans that undermine national interests.
He called for private investors seeking refinery ownership to build their own facilities, as the Dangote Group has done.
In contrast, former President Obasanjo, in an interview with Channels Television, defended his administration’s decision, claiming that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) rejected a $750 million offer by Aliko Dangote to manage the country’s three major refineries in 2007.
Obasanjo revealed that Dangote’s offer followed Shell’s refusal to take over the facilities due to issues of corruption, poor maintenance, and inefficiency.
Obasanjo also recounted advising Yar’Adua against returning the refineries to the NNPC, warning that the corporation lacked the capacity to manage them effectively.
Despite this, Yar’Adua refunded Dangote’s consortium the $750 million it had paid for the refineries.
