Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has shared the story of how the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) turned down a $750 million proposal from billionaire business mogul Aliko Dangote in 2007 to manage the Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries.
Obasanjo made this revelation during an exclusive interview with Channels Television.
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He explained that although the NNPC, which has since been rebranded as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), was aware of its inability to efficiently operate the national refineries, it still chose to reject Dangote’s offer.
Obasanjo said, “Aliko got a team together and they paid $750m to take part in PPP (Public–Private Partnership) in running the refineries. My successor refunded their money and I went to my successor and told him what transpired. He said NNPC said they wanted the refineries and they can run it. I now said but you know they cannot run it.”
Olusegun Obasanjo served as Nigeria’s democratically elected President from May 1999 to May 2007. Prior to that, he was the country’s military head of state from February 1976 to October 1979.
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