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Obasanjo stirs up hornet’s nest, says ‘NNPCL refineries may never work again’

Published

5 hours ago

April 28, 2026

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In what can be considered as controversial statement and in line with his characteristic stance that usually attracts divergent views, former President Olusegun Obasanjo has disclosed that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna many never work again in spite of the NNPCL’s efforts to secure technical partners for the refineries.

Speaking during a televised interview on Sony Irabor Live , Obasanjo pointed to structural and historical challenges that, in his view, have continued to undermine the refineries’ performance.

He said, “One of the lessons that I learnt is that PPP (public-private partnership) works. Look, one project that has not been destroyed by the government in Nigeria is the NLNG (Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas), where the private sector has 51 per cent, and the Nigerian government has 49 per cent.

“See what we did with Nigerian railways. See what we did with the national shipping company. See what we are doing now, even with the NNPCL . The NNPCL has refineries, and I said to people that it may never work. And a man had the audacity to say, ‘Am I a chemical engineer?”

The former president recalled past attempts during his administration to attract global operators, including Shell, to manage the refineries under a partnership model. According to him, those efforts did not yield results.

“Look, when I was there, I called Shell. I said, ‘Look, please, I beg you, come and take 10 per cent equity and run the refinery for us.’ They said no. I said, ‘Okay, if you don’t want to take equity, don’t take equity. Come and run the refineries. They said no,” he stated.

He further explained that discussions with company officials highlighted commercial and operational concerns that influenced their decision.

“So, I called him, and I said, ‘Tell me, be honest with me. Why don’t you want to handle this?’ He said first, they want to let me know that they make most of their profits on the upstream, not the downstream.”

He said they run their downstream without making a loss, but they don’t make a lot of profit from it. It’s more of a service than a major profit-making. So that’s number one.

“Number two: he said our refineries are too small. This was when I was an elected President. He said our refineries are too small. One is 60,000 barrels, and another is 100,000 barrels. He said refineries at that time were in the range of 250,000 barrels to 300,000 barrels. Number three: he said our refineries are not well-maintained. We call quacks and amateurs to come and maintain our refineries. The refineries are not in good order. He said, ‘Number four, there’s too much corruption around our refineries, and they don’t want to be part of that,” Obasanjo explained.

Obasanjo also revisited a previous transaction involving the Dangote Group, led by Aliko Dangote, which he said offered a pathway for private sector participation at the time.

“Until one day, Aliko (Dangote) came and offered $750m to take two of the refineries; that will be 51 per cent. I said, ‘Wow, God, you are really a God of miracles.’ I told Aliko to bring the money quickly. They brought the money, and they paid,” he said.

He noted, however, that the arrangement did not endure beyond his tenure, following a policy reversal under his successor, the late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.

Obasanjo said, “When I left office, NNPC went to my successor and convinced him. So I got up. I went to Umar. I said, ‘Look, Umar, maybe you don’t know; this is why we did what we did.’ He said, ‘Well, NNPC came to me.’ I said, ‘But you know that NNPCL cannot run this thing. He said he knew. I asked, ‘Then why did you give in? He said because of pressure. And I said, ‘Look, when you sell these refineries, you will not get $200million for them, because you will sell them as scrap.’”

Obasanjo further referenced recent disclosures by the current NNPCL leadership, noting that , “Only the present NNPCL head has told the country the truth. But in the meantime, I was told that they have spent about $16bn, which is only $4bn short of what Aliko used to build Africa’s largest refinery,” the former President said.

The current Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Bayo Ojulari, had earlier indicated that despite rehabilitation efforts and the brief reopening of the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries in 2024, the facilities remain below global performance benchmarks, affecting their competitiveness.

In November 2025, NNPCL set a June 2026 target to conclude the selection of technical partners, a move seen as part of broader reforms to improve efficiency and output.

Meanwhile, Dangote has maintained that his decision to establish a privately owned refinery followed the earlier reversal of the refinery sale, adding that the future of the state-owned facilities remains uncertain.

News

Sanwo-Olu’s resignation on health grounds story is false- Lagos govt

Published

9 minutes ago

April 28, 2026

EMMANUEL AGAJI

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The office of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has dismissed reports claiming he was asked to resign on health grounds, describing the publication as false and misleading.

In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Gboyega Akosile, the Lagos State Government said the claims, attributed to Sahara Reporters, were fabricated.

Akosile maintained that the governor remains in good health and is fully engaged in his official duties.

“These reports are not only false, they are an intentional attempt to mislead the public.

“Governor Sanwo-Olu is not under any pressure to resign, nor has anyone demanded his resignation. The Governor is well, in excellent health, and continues to fulfill his responsibilities with commitment,” he said.

The clarification followed an online report alleging that the governor had been pressured to step aside due to health concerns, with Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat purportedly positioned to assume leadership.

Akosile, however, described the claim as baseless, noting that the governor had earlier held a routine meeting with his deputy, during which Hamzat formally communicated his intention to contest the governorship.

He said the meeting was cordial and part of normal political consultations, with no indication of any health-related issue affecting the governor.

The statement also criticised Sahara Reporters for what it described as a pattern of publishing sensational and misleading reports.

Akosile added that although the governor’s office does not usually respond to such claims, it was necessary to address the report in order to reassure residents.

“In light of the growing disinformation, we feel it is crucial to address these malicious rumors. The people of Lagos deserve to know the truth,” Akosile said.

The Governor’s office urged residents to ignore the report, describing it as false, and cautioned against the circulation of unverified information capable of eroding public confidence in the state’s leadership.

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EXPOSED! Senator Kingibe Allegedly Collected $65,000 For A Contract That Never Existed, Dragged To ICPC As Bizman Insists She Used Her Office To Defraud Him

Published

20 minutes ago

April 28, 2026

EMMANUEL AGAJI

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…She Refunded Only N50m Of N118m, Threatened To Arrest Victim When He Demanded His Balance

Senator Ireti Kingibe, the representative of the Federal Capital Territory in the 10th National Assembly, has been petitioned to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over allegations that she allegedly collected $65,000, equivalent to N118 million at the time, from a businessman to facilitate a Federal Government contract that the petitioner alleges never existed, subsequently denied receiving the money, then reluctantly refunded only N50 million, and allegedly threatened to have the businessman arrested when he insisted on recovering the outstanding N68 million balance.

The petition, dated April 27, 2026, was filed by lawyer Elochukwu Obi on behalf of his client, Mr. Nonso Okafor, and addressed to the office of the lCPC Chairman, requesting an urgent investigation to determine whether criminal infractions and abuse of public office have occurred, and seeking the recovery of the outstanding funds.

According to the petition, the arrangement began in October 2024 when Mr. Osereme Christian Omofoma, Senator Kingibe’s Senior Legislative Aide, approached the businessman.

The SLA allegedly pleaded with Okafor “to help him raise $100,000 for the Senator to enable her to meet urgent financial needs,” promising that the money would be repaid in full or, alternatively, that the senator would facilitate the award of Federal Government contracts to Okafor through
which he would recoup his money.

The petition stated that Okafor was initially reluctant to participate in the arrangement, “especially as he did not have the huge amount of money that was demanded at that time.”

However, the SLA allegedly exerted “enormous pressure” on the businessman, who was eventually had to borrow from friends in order to meet up with the cash demand.”

Okafor managed to raise $65,000 of the $100,000 initially demanded, borrowing the funds “at exorbitant interest rates,” a detail that underscores the financial strain the arrangement placed on the businessman even before the alleged fraud was discovered.

The petition stated that the $65,000 was paid to Senator Kingibe in two tranches in October 2024.

The businessman was told that the promised contract award would materialise within a few weeks of payment.

“After the payment, our client futilely waited far beyond the envisaged timeframe for the promised contracts, but nothing
materialised” the petition stated.

After several months of waiting, the petition alleged, “it dawned on our client that there was no contract for him and that he had simply been misled!”

At this point, Okafor began requesting a refund of his money.
When the businessman sought his money back, the senator’s response, according to the petition, shifted from evasiveness to outright denial.

“The Senator not only refused to refund the money, but she also began to actively claim that she did not receive any money from our client” the petition stated.

The denial, if accurate, represents a significant escalation, as it would mean the senator was not merely failing to fulfil a
promise but was denying the existence of the transaction itself, despite the businessman having records of the

Unable to communicate directly with the senator after being cut off, Okafor continued to press for his refund through
the SLA, Omofoma.

When Okafor expressed his determination to involve law enforcement, the response from the senator’s side shifted again.

“Upon our client’s expression of his determination to get the law enforcement involved in the matter, they reluctantly decided to unilaterally pay only N50,000,000 out of the total $65,000 (N118,000,000)” the petition stated.

This payment was made in May 2025. The N50 million refund created a new problem. At the exchange rate at the time
of the original payment,

Okafor had paid N118 million. The N50 million refund left an outstanding balance of N68 million.

“After this, Senator Kingibe and her aide tried to compel our client to accept the payment as full and final, with threats to arrest him if he refuses to forgo the balance,” the petition alleged.

Despite the threats, the petition stated that “our client continued to peacefully press for the completion of his money, which remains N68,000,000. All subsequent appeals for the payment fell on deaf ears.”

“Our client believes that there were no contracts for the Senator to facilitate in the first place.

On the contrary, the facilitation of contract was a deceitful gimmick which was deployed to fraudulently collect money from him, without any intention of refunding the same,” Obi stated.

News

Nigeria-Venezuela Reset Talks as Joint Commission Meeting Shifted

Published

60 minutes ago

April 28, 2026

Gloria Ikibah

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By Gloria Ikibah

Nigeria and Venezuela have agreed to reschedule their long-anticipated Joint Commission meeting, signalling a renewed push to deepen diplomatic and economic ties while allowing more time to prepare for meaningful outcomes.

The decision followed a high-level meeting in Abuja between Nigeria’s Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Dunoma Umar Ahmed, and Venezuela’s Ambassador, Alberto Castellar Padilla, where both sides reviewed plans for the second session of the bilateral commission initially slated for June 2026.

Officials acknowledged that evolving administrative developments in both countries could affect the original timetable, prompting a mutual decision to shift the meeting rather than delay it indefinitely.

Speaking during the engagement, Ambassador Ahmed underscored Nigeria’s commitment to the partnership, and added that the decision to reschedule was deliberate and strategic.

He said: “Nigeria remains firmly committed to strengthening its longstanding diplomatic relations with the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and to ensuring that the Joint Commission delivers concrete and mutually beneficial outcomes.

“Both sides have agreed, in a spirit of mutual understanding and cooperation, to move the meeting to a more suitable date to allow for comprehensive preparation, effective participation, and a successful engagement.”

The Permanent Secretary also expressed solidarity with Venezuela’s ongoing reforms and welcomed recent improvements in its economic outlook.

“We recognise and support Venezuela’s ongoing economic and institutional reforms, and we are encouraged by recent positive developments, including the easing of sanctions on key financial institutions, which hold significant potential for enhanced bilateral cooperation”, he noted.

On his part, Ambassador Padilla reaffirmed Venezuela’s readiness to deepen ties with Nigeria, describing the Joint Commission as a vital platform for collaboratio.

“The Joint Commission remains an essential mechanism for advancing cooperation between our two countries across critical sectors, and Venezuela is committed to working closely with Nigeria to ensure its success”, he said.

Both countries highlighted priority areas including agriculture, oil and gas, energy, mining, manufacturing, and information and communication technology as key pillars for expanded cooperation.

To support the process, the two sides agreed to establish a joint technical committee tasked with reviewing existing agreements, updating outdated frameworks, and coordinating documentation ahead of the rescheduled meeting.

A new date for the Joint Commission will be formally communicated once consultations are concluded.

The renewed engagement reflects over six decades of diplomatic relations between the two nations, anchored on shared interests in energy, development, and South–South cooperation, with both sides reiterating their commitment to tackling emerging global challenges through sustained dialogue.