- ADC says past and present governments spent $21bn on refineries, yet none is functional or contributes to local fuel supply.
- The party fears the planned sale is a cover-up for years of mismanagement and alleged looting of public funds.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has asked the Federal Government to conduct a forensic audit of the $21bn spent on Nigeria’s state-owned refineries.
The ADC said no privatisation should take place until the audit is done and made public in a transparent, accountable process.
It expressed concern over what it described as a lack of transparency in the management of funds allocated for refinery rehabilitation.
In a statement on Wednesday, the interim national publicity secretary of the ADC, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, alleged that Nigerians had been misled.
He said the government spent billions of dollars on fixing the refineries, only to declare them moribund and offer them for sale.
The ADC claimed that APC-led administrations had spent over $18bn on refineries while the Tinubu-led government added another $2.8bn.
It lamented that despite the massive spending, the refineries remained inactive, leaving Nigeria reliant on fuel importation.
“What exactly is being sold, and why now? If the intention all along was to privatise the refineries, then the years of huge public spending is at best a waste, and at worst a scam,” the ADC said.
The party raised fears of favouritism, warning that the assets might be sold at low prices to government loyalists.
“Selling off the refineries under the prevailing circumstances is indeed conducive for all sorts of criminal dealings, whereby national assets could be deliberately devalued and sold to cronies,” Abdullahi stated.
The ADC demanded an independent forensic audit covering the financial, technical, and structural dimensions of the refineries’ rehabilitation.
“Before any conversation about privatisation can proceed, there must be a comprehensive forensic audit of all funds allocated to refinery rehabilitation from 2010 to date,” the party stated.
It insisted that the audit results must be made public through a legislative hearing involving experts and civil society.
“The audit findings must be presented in full to the public through a legislative hearing, with civil society, energy economists, and anti-corruption agencies present,” the party said.
The party referenced Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, who also cast doubts on the viability of Nigeria’s government-owned refineries.
“Alhaji Aliko Dangote has publicly stated his doubts that these government-owned refineries can ever work again. And he is right to doubt. The infrastructure is obsolete, the operations are hollowed out, and the entire value-chain has become a black hole for public funds,” the party said.
The ADC faulted the government’s contradictory policy, saying recent claims of refinery reactivation contradicted the new plan for privatisation.
“It is curious that the same government, having spent such humongous amounts on the refineries, is now planning to sell them off,” the party stated.
The ADC said the issue was not only about money but about trust and the integrity of public institutions.
“This is not simply about public finance. It is about public trust. If this government truly believes in reform, then it must begin with the truth. And if it claims to be accountable, then it must submit itself to scrutiny,” the ADC declared.
It vowed to resist any attempt to sell the refineries without public scrutiny, describing the move as a cover-up of institutional failure.
“What we are witnessing is not a policy decision. It is a cover-up. And the ADC will not stand by while national assets are quietly auctioned to cronies and to mask years of systemic failure,” the statement added.
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