President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has assured Nigerians that the nation’s government-owned refineries will eturn to full operation after a comprehensive structural reset aimed at ensuring long-term profitability and value creation.
The President made the pledge on Thursday while receiving the national leadership of the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), led by its National President, Comrade Salimon Akanni Oladiti, at the State House in Abuja.
Responding to the union’s call for the revival of the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries, President Tinubu said the facilities would not be allowed to waste away given the huge investments made over many years.
“The refineries that you mentioned are going to come back to work. We are just building a very firm reset and structural reworking of the economics of it,” the President stated.
“Ordinary flame and smoke of a refinery doesn’t mean that it is working until it is profitable and yields the value for which it was built.”
Tinubu emphasised that his administration has accepted both the assets and liabilities inherited from previous governments and takes full responsibility for fixing the challenges in the sector.
“I’m not a man who will go looking back at everything because I have accepted the assets and liabilities of my predecessors. No matter what has happened in the years past, it is my responsibility now as the President to fix it, make it work for the largest common value of our population. I take responsibility for that and I am going to do it,” he said.
The President noted that the government is pursuing detailed technical assessments, research and a systematic restructuring of the operational, financial and managerial frameworks of the refineries. The goal, he explained, is not merely to restart the plants but to ensure they operate commercially and deliver sustainable returns for the nation.
His comments come months after the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) shut down the state-owned refineries earlier in 2026 following internal assessments that showed the facilities were operating at monumental losses and destroying national value.
NUPENG leaders welcomed the President’s commitment and called for sustained efforts to restore the refineries, stressing that functional domestic refining capacity would strengthen Nigeria’s energy security, reduce dependence on imported petroleum products, and create more opportunities for Nigerian workers. They also urged the rehabilitation of the Nigerian Pipelines and Storage Company (NPSC) depots across the country.
The high point of the meeting was the inauguration of President Tinubu as Grand Patron of NUPENG.
The administration reaffirmed its determination to end the long-standing paradox of Nigeria as a major crude oil producer that struggles to refine its own resources for domestic consumption, positioning functional state-owned refineries alongside private investments as key pillars of the country’s energy security agenda.