By Zainab Bakare
The Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineers (NSChE) has called on the Federal Government to privatise Nigeria’s non-operational state-owned refineries through a transparent process to be completed within 22 months.
National President of the society, Engr. Bayo Olarewaju-Alo, made the proposal at a news conference titled “Nigeria’s Moribund Refineries Need New Governance”.
He said further public spending on rehabilitation should give way to majority private ownership, with credible investors taking responsibility for financing, management and daily operations.
Olarewaju-Alo said repeated attempts to rehabilitate the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries over more than two decades had failed to deliver reliable and commercially competitive production.
Under the proposed timeline, the privatisation process would cover asset assessment, investor prequalification, due diligence, competitive bidding, regulatory approvals and the transfer of ownership and operational control.
He said the government could retain a minority, non-controlling stake to protect strategic national interests while allowing private investors to manage operations and fund necessary investments.
The NSChE president also called for binding investment and production targets, environmental safeguards, workforce protection and transparent management of existing liabilities. He said penalties should apply to investors who fail to meet agreed obligations.
According to him, the proposed changes are intended to establish a sustainable ownership and management structure capable of delivering reliable refinery operations, commercial discipline and public accountability.
