TUC President Festus Osifo has dismissed claims that Nigeria’s state-owned refineries never worked, insisting they were functional but grossly inefficient.
Speaking on Politics Today on Tuesday, Osifo said the plants operated, but at a loss.
“I’m an engineer of over 20 years. I know a system that works and one that doesn’t. The refineries worked — but not efficiently,” he stated.
He explained that the facilities were shut because they were unprofitable.
“When you feed crude worth $10 million into a refinery and get products of $9.5 million, you are running at a loss. That was the issue, not inactivity,” Osifo said.
The TUC chief added that government’s quick-fix approach also worsened the problem.
“Fifteen to twenty years ago, the old refinery fed products into the new one, which refined them further. But government separated both units, creating a material balance challenge,” he noted.
Osifo renewed calls for private sector involvement.
“For over 20 years, we have said government should give private investors 51% stake in the refineries. With controlling shares, they will run them efficiently,” he said.
Nigeria has four state-owned refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna, with a combined capacity of 445,000 barrels per day. Most were idle for years due to poor maintenance, inefficiency, and vandalism.
Partial operations resumed at Port Harcourt and Warri refineries in late 2024 and early 2025.
Meanwhile, the 650,000 bpd Dangote Refinery in Lagos — already running at about 85% capacity — has raised hopes of cutting fuel imports but sparked concerns about monopoly.
