Atiku Criticizes Tinubu’s Refinery Bill

Atiku Criticizes Tinubu’s Refinery Bill

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticised spending on Nigeria’s refineries, saying the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s admission on the Port Harcourt Refinery backs his long-held call for privatisation.

He reacted after reports showed the facility consumed about $1.5 billion without producing petrol, calling it proof that public funding of idle refineries no longer makes sense.

He said the Tinubu administration’s position reflects a late acceptance of an economic truth he has raised for years, that channelling public money into non-performing assets is unjustifiable.

Atiku recalled how his push to privatise the refineries in the past was met with criticism and claims he wanted to hand public assets to allies.

He noted that years of turnaround maintenance swallowed huge sums with little outcome, exposing deep flaws in technical capacity, financial discipline, and management across the sector.

The latest push to revive these refineries was propelled by political pressure, not economic sense.