The 2023 Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar in response to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s decision to transfer the Port Harcourt refinery to a private firm has expressed his belief that the NNPCL should have sold the refinery to prevent incurring debt

Atiku emphasized the necessity for the country’s oil firm to clarify the advantages of relinquishing the refinery to private management. 

In a post on X on Tuesday, the former Vice President lamented that his persistent recommendations for extensive reforms in Nigeria’s oil sector and broader economy had gone unheeded.

His statement read: “I have consistently called on the Buhari administration to break its monopoly in all infrastructure sectors, including the refineries, and give investors a larger role in funding and management. Our suggestions fell on deaf ears. First, they refused to privatize the refineries, leaving them idle for years while paying substantial staff salaries.

“Then, they contracted a $1.5 billion loan for rehabilitation. Now, the current administration intends to hand over the rehabilitated refinery to private entities for operation and maintenance! Without prejudicing the agreement’s terms, it would have been preferable if the NNPC had sold the refinery pre-rehabilitation to avoid the burden of debt.

“The @nnpclimited must explain to Nigerians the benefits of this new privatization approach. -AA”