I Doubt if Nigeria’s Refineries Would Ever Function – Dangote

Sunday 13th July 2025

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Aliko Dangote, the founder and president/CEO of the Dangote Group, has expressed concerns about the future viability of Nigeria's state-owned refineries.

Mr Dangote, speaking on Thursday during a facility tour with members of the Global Chief Executive Officer Africa group from Lagos Business School at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lekki, Lagos, explained that the state-owned refineries managed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) have consumed approximately $18 billion in public funds without producing results.

He also stated that his 650,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery came after the government of late President Umar Yar'adua refused to sell the refineries to him.

Mr Dangote made the following comments;

“The refineries that we bought before, which were owned by Nigeria, were doing about 22 per cent of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS). We bought the refineries in January 2007. Then we had to return them to the government because there was a change of government.

“And the managing director at that time convinced Yar’adua that the refineries would work. They said they just gave them to us as a parting gift or so. And as of today, they have spent about $18billion on those refineries, and they are still not working. And I don’t think and I doubt very much if they will work.”

“It’s like you trying to modernise a car that was built 40 years ago, when technology and everything have changed. Even if you change the engine, the body will not be able to take the shock of that new technology engine.”

Experts in Nigeria's oil and gas industry have reacted to Mr Dangote's claims that the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited's refineries do not work despite spending $18 billion on maintenance.

In an interview with Vanguard, Dr. Muda Yusuf, the Chief Executive Officer, Centre for Promotion of Private Enterprise, CPPE, made the following comments;

“I agree with what Alhaji Dangote has said to a large extent. The truth of the matter is that the prospects of those refineries working efficiently and competitively is quite dim because of their age, because of the technology, and because of the prospect of the refineries being able to compete, especially in the light of what is happening, with the increase in domestic production that we are now seeing from Dangote.

“Refinery business ordinarily should just be left to the private sector so that the government can concentrate more on ensuring the proper regulatory framework. The amount of government resources that has been wasted on those refineries are mind boggling, we need to put a closure to that and open a new chapter. That’s, I think, is what needs to be done. And luckily, now we have the reform of the downstream sector. We have the PIA, which has created a much better environment for private investments in this space.”

NNPCL May Sell Warri, Port Harcourt, Kaduna Refineries after 2025 Review – Ojulari

Bayo Ojulari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), has stated that the sale of the country's non-performing refineries, including those in Warri, Port Harcourt, and Kaduna, is still a possibility as the company conducts a comprehensive review of its downstream operations.

Ojulari stated this in an interview with Bloomberg on the sidelines of the 9th Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries International Seminar in Vienna on Thursday.

He said;

“We’ve made quite a lot of investments in our refineries over the last several years and brought in a lot of technology. We’ve been challenged – some of those technologies have not worked as expected so far. But also, as you know, when you are refining a very old refinery that has been abandoned for some time, what we found is that they are a little bit more complicated.

“So, we are reviewing all our refinery strategies now. We hope that before the end of the year, we will conclude that review. That review will lead us to doing things slightly differently.”

CAC to Upgrade the Company Registration Portal for Faster, Seamless Access

The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has informed the public of its plans to optimise its portal to ensure better performance for users.

It came in a statement on Friday, 11th June, 2025.

The announcement comes just days after the CAC unveiled a new Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered registration portal aimed at transforming Nigeria's business environment by streamlining company registration procedures and expediting approvals.

Trade Depot Plans to Disrupt Nigeria’s $420 Million Wine Industry

TradeDepot, Africa's leading distribution and data intelligence company for consumer goods, has launched Amabile di Rosa, a premium line of sweet wines developed in collaboration with Italy's Bosio Family Estates.

According to TradeDepot, Amabile di Rosa is set to disrupt and redefine Nigeria's sweet wine industry, valued at $400 million to $420 million.

The launch marks TradeDepot's strategic entry into the beverage space, ushering in a new era of Nigerian wine culture.

At the official unveiling in Lagos, TradeDepot executives described the move as the result of a data-driven discovery of a high-growth opportunity in Nigeria's wine market, particularly among younger consumers who prefer sweet, easy-to-drink wines.

Nigeria’s Stock Market Closes Week with N1.08 Trillion Gain

The Nigerian stock market closed the week on a positive note, with a gain of N1.077 trillion as investors saw consistent gains throughout the week.

The uptrend came as a result of increased investor demand for banking stocks, including First Bank Holding Company, United Bank for Africa, FCMB, and others.

Market capitalisation increased by N1.077 trillion, or 1.37%, to close at N79.803 trillion, up from N78.726 trillion on Thursday.

Top Gainers:

Guinness Nigeria – 10%

Cardbury Nigeria – 10%

Nem Insurance – 10%

Consolidated Hallmark Holdings – 10%

Red Star Express – 9.98%

Top Losers:

Learn Africa – 8.66%

Tantalizers – 6.25%

Prestige – 6.02%

Regalins – 5.62%

Oando – 4.61%

Transactions in the shares of Access Corporation led the activity chart with 172.92 million shares worth N4.16 billion.

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Thank you for reading! Stay tuned next week to be updated with the latest major events from the Nigerian commercial sector.