Shell refused Nigeria’s refinery deal due to corruption, says Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has revealed that his administration’s attempt to partner with Shell Plc to manage Nigeria’s refineries was rejected due to excessive corruption and amateur management.

In an interview with the Financial Times, which went viral on Saturday, Obasanjo, who served as president from 1999 to 2007, revealed that Shell cited these reasons for declining the offer.

He said, “When I was President, I invited Shell, and I said, ‘look, come and take equity participation and run our refineries for us.’ They refused. They said our refineries have not been well maintained.

“We have brought amateurs rather than bringing professionals. They said there’s too much corruption with the way our refinery is run and maintained. And they didn’t want to get involved in such a mess.”

He also criticised the government’s repeated promises to repair the refineries, expressing frustration with the government’s unfulfilled promises.

He said, “How many times have they told us that? And at what price?

“Those problems, as far as the government refineries are concerned, have never gone away. They have even increased. So if you have a problem like that and that problem is not removed, then you aren’t going anywhere.”