…. Says they’re a drain on economy
The Director General of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Segun Ajayi-Kadiri, has urged the Federal Government to fully privatise the country’s state-owned refineries, describing them as a “pure drain on the Nigerian economy.”
Ajayi-Kadiri stated this when he appeared as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today, on Tuesday anchored by Seun Okinbaloye and monitored by our Correspondent in Lagos.
Ajayi-Kadiri urged the government to hand over all the four refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna to capable private individuals who would deploy their private sector driven experience and expertise to turn them around for profitability.
In his words: “If you ask me, the government should just sell these refineries. Give them to private sector people who will run them efficiently and be able to deliver. When something belongs to everybody, it belongs to nobody,” Ajayi-Kadiri argued.
The federal government has made several efforts through the national oil coy, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, to revitalize and reposition the refineries for good but all the efforts have gone to waste.
The MAN DG bemoaned that the continued government ownership of the refineries, insisting that such a policy has been counter productive because it has proven ineffective overtime.
“Those four refineries are a pure drain on the Nigerian economy, and it is not fair to the Nigerian people. We should have a situation where we are able to speak truth to ourselves and encourage private sector investment,” he stated.
Listing the possible gains of fully privatizing the refineries, Ajayi-Kadiri said it would reduce corruption and promote accountability in the energy sector.
“It’s our natural endowment. We are the sixth-largest producer of crude oil in the world, yet we suffer. I can tell you that if you completely go private, it will be difficult for anyone to steal.
“It will be difficult for anybody to be unaccountable. It will be difficult to keep having insinuations of massive fraud.”
He added that: “The government should completely privatise all the other refineries. They should ensure that the ‘naira for crude’ policy is sustainable, adequately funded, and supported. Also, we need to address the incompetent distribution companies (DisCos) and drive investment into the power sector to guarantee supply,” the MAN DG stated.
Ajayi-Kadiri dismissed the fear of monopoly, saying competition remains viable.
“I do not subscribe to the view that we are creating a monopoly. Those four other refineries are potential competitors. We’ve been told that one is working, then again told that it’s not. Give them to people who will ensure they actually work,” he said.
