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The federal government’s recent decision to privatize Nigeria’s state-owned refineries, which have allegedly embezzled about $18 billion in public monies over the last ten years under the pretense of restoration, has the African Democratic Congress (ADC) extremely alarmed.

Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the coalition’s spokesperson and ADC’s interim national publicity secretary, said in a statement that the party has serious concerns that the Tinubu administration is deceiving Nigerians, particularly after confirming that it recently spent an additional $2.8 billion on the same refineries and then declaring them “moribund.”

The statement said, “The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has noted with deep concern the recent confirmation by the Tinubu administration and the leadership of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) that the federal government is proceeding with the full privatisation of Nigeria’s state-owned refineries. This development, coming just months after government officials claimed that the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries had resumed partial operations, raises fundamental questions about transparency and policy coherence.”

ADC recalls that this same government recently declared in public that construction had resumed at the refineries in Port Harcourt and Warri.

However, the situation has now changed: these facilities will be auctioned off without any transparency, audit, or public accounting, even though billions of taxpayer dollars have been invested in them.

“It is therefore curious that the same government, having spent such humongous amounts on the refineries, is now planning to sell them off.”

Under the guise of “turnaround maintenance,” which Nigerians have grown to connect more with elite enrichment than with real reform, the party said it saw this as a concerning pattern of waste, poor management, and dubious backroom dealings.

“ADC is concerned about the perennial waste and underhanded dealings in the name of turnaround maintenance that never turned anything around but the personal fortunes of those involved. We believe this must not continue. We are however suspicious of the current moves being made by the government to sell off the refineries outright without giving full considerations to alternative options and without consultations with critical stakeholders. 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.”

The party said it’s demand is clear -“no sale should go forward without a full and independent audit—financial, technical, and structural—of all funds and processes tied to these refineries.

“ADC therefore calls for a full and independent audit—financial, technical, and structural—before any sale is contemplated or privatisation is considered.”

According to the report, Nigerians are in worse shape, refineries are still dead, and petroleum imports are still occurring despite billions of dollars being spent by successive governments with no results.

“Successive APC administrations have poured over $18 billion into the so-called rehabilitation of Nigeria’s refineries. The current administration is reported to have spent another $2.8 billion under the same pretext. Yet there is no verifiable increase in refining capacity, no observable cost efficiency, and no fuel security benefit accruing to the Nigerian people. Instead, the same refineries have remained idle or dysfunctional, while the government continues to fund the importation of refined petroleum products.”

The ADC recounted how Alhaji Aliko ̊angote, a rich businessman, responded to the refineries’ resurgence.

“Even Africa’s foremost industrialist, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, whose private refinery now stands as the only viable refining asset in the country, 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. So again, we must ask: what exactly is being sold, and why now?”

The party contends that years of public spending were not only pointless but also dishonest if privatization was always the ultimate goal.

“The truth is that 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.”

“Government cannot, in good conscience, expend public funds on assets under the guise of rehabilitation, only to turn around and offer them for sale—without accountability on the investments already made and without any public reckoning. In other climes, those responsible for such transactions would have faced judgments.”

“For the ADC, the next steps must be non-negotiable – a forensic audit dating back to 2010 and a full, public legislative hearing involving civil society, economists, and anti-corruption bodies.“

“The ADC believes that 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. There must also be a third-party technical assessment to determine the true status and potential of the assets in question.”

“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. Until then, any attempt to sell these refineries must be considered not just illegitimate, but criminal.”

The issue, the party stressed, “is bigger than economics—it’s about rebuilding trust in governance.“

“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. 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.”

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