THE Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) has advised the Federal Government against hasty lopsided sale of any national assets.
The National President, PETROAN, Dr Billy Gillis-Harry, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Abuja yesterday.
Gillis-Harry made this known, following pressures on the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) to sell the country’s refineries.
He underscored the need for a deep thinking and critical analysis of the refineries with major stakeholders, before privatisation or sale.
NAN recall that Mr Bayo Ojulari, the Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO), NNPC Ltd. recently disclosed that a strategic review of the NNPC’s refineries operations/ strategies was ongoing and expected to be concluded before end of 2025
According to him, the decision to sell the refineries will be based on the outcome of the reviews which it is doing currently as it grapples with challenges in their rehabilitation.
In spite of huge investments made to rehabilitate the dormant state-owned Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries, the Port Harcourt refinery resumed operations in November 2023, but was shut down again in May for maintenance.
The NNPC Ltd. attributed some of the setbacks to outdated infrastructure and underperforming technologies.
Speaking with NAN, Gillis-Harry expressed dissatisfaction on how national assets which were termed not functional always become functional after being privatised to a private company that would turn it around.
Gillis-Harry recalled that Nigeria hurriedly, without deep analysis and thinking, entered into lopsided sales or partnership agreement with an Indian company called Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals several years ago.
He said the dormant Eleme Petrochemical then was sold lopsidedly to the Indian company without deep thinking.
“It took the Indian company, Indorama, to just take over that refinery and turn it into Eldorado. And they are smiling to the banks across the globe.
