The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) has urged the Federal Government to privatize Nigeria’s state-owned refineries, citing years of failed rehabilitation efforts and massive public spending with little to show for it.
In a statement, PETROAN’s National President, Billy Gillis-Harry, appealed for the sale of the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), insisting that private-sector ownership offers the only realistic path to productivity.
Gillis-Harry lamented that despite the federal government spending billions of naira on the rehabilitation of the refineries, they have continued to record minimal or no commercial output.
According to him, continued government control of the plants has become a fiscal burden, draining public resources without delivering value to Nigerians.
He argued that privatization would attract competent investors, improve efficiency, and help stabilize the downstream petroleum sector.
“Sustained public funding of the refineries has failed to deliver optimal results over the years. Private sector-led management has become inevitable if Nigeria is to achieve energy security and downstream stability,” Gillis-Harry said.
PETROAN further called on the government to ensure that the privatization process is transparent and concluded by the first quarter of 2026 to prevent further economic losses.
The call comes amid renewed national debate over the future of Nigeria’s refineries. Recently, NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, acknowledged that privatization remains an option following a review of the facilities, suggesting that government ownership may no longer be sustainable.
Nigeria’s four state-owned refineries have remained largely inactive for decades, forcing the country to rely heavily on imported petroleum products despite being Africa’s largest crude oil producer.
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