One propaganda I’m slowly falling for…
Nigeria’s $11 trillion refineries might never function as they should
Good morning, Big Brains. Losing a former president wasn’t on my list of Sunday predictions. One minute, you’re wondering who the next winner of Love Island would be; the next minute, you’re writing an announcement about the death of one of Nigeria’s most interesting leaders. Life is nothing but a pot of beans.
This Week’s Big Question: “What’s one Nigerian propaganda you’re falling for?” Share your responses with us, and if we think they’re fun enough, we’ll feature them in the newsletter :) so be on the lookout.
- Margaret
Word count: ~ 1,200
Reading time ~ 7 mins
Let’s get into the news you missed during the weekend:
Nigeria’s $11 trillion refineries might never function as they should
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s resumption at the Senate still isn’t looking good
The Big Deal
Nigeria’s $11 trillion refineries might never function as they should
One propaganda we’re slowly falling for is the “Nigeria has spiritual problems” one. We’ll explain why soon, but we can’t promise you’ll understand because this is Nigeria.
On Thursday, July 10, Aliko Dangote, president of Dangote Group, announced that he’s no longer optimistic about Nigeria’s state-owned refineries functioning at full capacity. During a tour of his Lekki refinery with some Lagos Business School executives, he mentioned that over $18 billion has been spent on the refineries, yet they’ve produced little to nothing.
He revealed that the federal government once sold the refineries to him in 2007, but the late President Yar’adua reversed the sale after being convinced the refineries would work. Dangote described trying to fix the refineries as trying to modernise an old car, and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) seems to agree. Bayo Ojulari, NNPC CEO, told Bloomberg last Thursday that the company is reviewing all refinery operations and hasn’t ruled out the option of selling them off. A decision is expected before the end of the year.
Why is this a big deal?
Nigeria currently has four major state-owned refineries with a combined capacity of 445,000 barrels per day, two in Port Harcourt (which reportedly cost £12 million and $850 million respectively), one in Kaduna and one in Warri. But none of them have been running at full capacity.
The Warri refinery, which was reopened in December 2024, shut down again in January 2025 after NNPCL reportedly spent $897 million of public funds on its maintenance. In May, NNPC also announced it had shut down the Port Harcourt refinery after spending $1.5 billion on its revamp. Put two and two together, and you’ll get gross misuse of public funds.
And if you think this is some sort of marketing move on Dangote’s part, it isn’t. The federal government itself has indirectly expressed scepticism about the chances of these refineries ever functioning as they should, despite the insane amount of money that has gone into their maintenance. In November 2024, the presidency announced its plans to privatise the refineries, after revealing previously that over $11 trillion had been spent on the rehabilitations between 2010 and 2023.
You’ve probably started doing the math in your head, but let’s talk about a few problems that $11 trillion can solve or at least reduce in Nigeria. The doctor-to-patient ratio in Nigeria is now 1000% below the World Health Organisation’s recommendation. This is mainly because doctors have been relocating to countries that offer better financial benefits to health workers. In Kano, Nigeria’s most populous state, 1,300 doctors are responsible for the healthcare of 15 million people. Meanwhile, in Adamawa, a single doctor treats 13,000 people. The effect of this japa wave is even worse in rural areas.
In October 2024, doctors, particularly those working in rural areas, asked the federal government to review their salaries. The last time this kind of demand made it to the government’s desk was back in 2013, when a salary review was approved under the Harmonised/Consolidated Health and Medical Salary Structures. But according to local reports, that approval never saw the light of day because, as usual, Nigeria claimed it was broke.
70% of Nigeria’s total population is made up of young people. But about 53% of those young people (about 80 million youths) are unemployed. With the minimum wage being ₦70,000, even $1 million is enough to pay the salaries of about 1,900 youths for at least one year. Imagine what $11 trillion can do.
We can go on and on, but you get the idea. Until the federal government is ready to figure out how to make its investment show results, it definitely owes Nigerians some answers.
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s resumption at the Senate still isn’t looking good
In Friday’s edition, we mentioned that we’ll have updates about Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s resumption and as promised, we’ve come bearing news, though it will most likely piss you off.
According to Ken Okolugbo, communications and strategy consultant to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, the Kogi central senator won’t be allowed to resume her duties without following what he calls “due process.” He claims her court victory doesn’t automatically reinstate her, arguing that the judgment in question was merely an obiter dictum, which in simple English means a judge’s comment that isn’t legally binding.
He also adds that Akpoti-Uduaghan needs to apologise to the Senate for how she behaved during their legal batte. We’re not sure if the apology is for being allegedly sexually harassed by the Senate president or going to court to challenge her suspension.
But the Kogi central senator doesn’t seem very fazed or particularly concerned about her resumption, as she’s currently fighting a different battle. She’s currently challenging part of the Federal High Court’s ruling that found her guilty of disobeying a court order. She’s also asking the court to cancel the ₦5 million fine imposed on her.
Your next big read
→“I Chose a Major MBA Debt in the UK over my ₦750,000 Salary in Nigeria, and I Have No Regrets”: Oba* (34) gave up a six-figure salary and a fancy apartment in Lekki to start his life from scratch in the UK. In this story, he shares why he has no regret paying off a £27,000 MBA debt in return for a life free of Nigerian struggles.
→Nigeria’s Former President, Muhammadu Buhari, Dies at 82: Nigeria’s former President, Muhammadu Buhari, has died today, Sunday, July 13, in London, at the age of 82.
The Big Picks
VP Shettima, Gbajabiamila To Accompany Buhari’s Body To Nigeria: Barely a few hours after the death of Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President Kashim Shettima and President Bola Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, will head to the United Kingdom to accompany the late former president’s body back to Nigeria.
Lagos LG Elections End, Results Announced: Lagos State has conducted its local government elections to pick chairmen and councillors for the 20 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the coastal state.
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