When Nigeria’s House of Representatives announced yet another probe into the moribund state of the nation’s oil refineries and huge funds sunk into rehabilitating them, many Nigerians could hardly muster enthusiasm.
Many Nigerians expressed frustration that the federal government spent $18 billion to repair idle refineries, yet Aliko Dangote, an individual, built one of the largest functioning refineries from start to finish with $20 billion. Citizens are desperate for results and accountability, but the news of a fresh probe was not met with hope but with a sigh, a familiar reminder of years of fruitless investigations and unending promises.
Last Thursday, the House resolved to set up a new joint committee to investigate the $18 billion reportedly spent on the rehabilitation of Nigeria’s four state-owned refineries between 2010 and 2024.
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The joint committee will be composed of members drawn from the Committees on Petroleum Resources (Upstream and Downstream), Public Accounts, Anti-Corruption, Finance, and Legislative Compliance. It is tasked with investigating the funds appropriated and disbursed for the rehabilitation of the refineries in Port Harcourt (two), Kaduna and Warri.
The committee is also to ascertain the actual status of the refineries, examine how public funds were utilised, and identify agencies responsible for any infractions or mismanagement.
This is not the first time lawmakers have launched such a probe, in fact, it is one of many. Just few months back, in July 2025, the Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) inaugurated technical sub-committees to investigate investments in the Turnaround Maintenance (TAM) of local refineries and why the exercise has failed to yield any results.
Before that, in 2023, the House examined the N11.3 trillion allegedly spent by the Federal Government to rehabilitate the refineries between 2010 and 2020. Neither investigation produced a conclusive report or any meaningful accountability.
Benjamin Kalu, the Deputy Speaker who presided over the session, gave the committee four weeks to report back for further legislative action. Yet, few Nigerians expect much from that timeline. Similar deadlines have come and gone in previous probes, which ended with no public report or sanction.
For many citizens, the pattern is predictable: the House announces an investigation, committees are formed, and public hearings are held. But in the end, nothing changes. This repeated cycle has eroded public confidence not only in the National Assembly but also in the government’s willingness to enforce accountability.
Chidi Omeje, a Political analyst observer, described the repeated probes as “mere theatrics,” arguing that they often serve political and financial interests rather than genuine reform.
That sense of futility is widely shared among Nigerians reacting to the development on social media. “Point out to me any probe successfully carried out by the Senate or the House of Representatives since the return of democracy in 1999. Every probe is always an avenue for them to collect bribes from the institutions they mark out to probe, which is very bad”, Olanusu Akin wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Another user, @Briggsisgreat, posted sarcastically: “Oh wow, another investigation in Nigeria? Can’t wait for the thrilling sequel where absolutely nothing happens again.”
Similarly, @Okariauke commented: “When you hear ‘House of Representatives or Senate investigation into corruption matters,’ that only means settle us, you can’t eat all alone. I can bet that nothing would come out of the investigation.”
And for @DatKindguy, the numbers themselves are an indictment: “Wait I don’t get it. Dangote spent approximately $20bn to build a full scale refinery from scratch. Yet, the Nigerian government couldn’t even repair her own refineries with $18bn. This is totally absurd. It’s a huge public disgrace. The government is a joke.”
@Preston also wrote, “If an individual like Dangote could build a new refinery for $20 billion, then why is it so difficult for the Nigerian government to rehabilitate a once-functioning refinery? The mind-blowing thing is that they spent $18 billion and yet it’s still not working.”
The saga of Nigeria’s refineries reads like a tragic loop. Built in the 1970s and 1980s, they once symbolised industrial pride. By the 1990s, mismanagement, corruption, and neglect had reduced them to shells. Every administration since has pledged to fix them. None has succeeded.
In 2007, the Obasanjo government sold the Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries to a consortium led by Dangote. But the sale was reversed months later by the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, who argued that the assets should remain under state control. The government opted instead for “rehabilitation”, a decision that has cost the country billions without producing a drop of refined petrol.
In 2021, the Buhari administration approved a $1.5 billion contract to revamp the Port Harcourt refinery. Four years later, it remains inactive. Meanwhile, Nigeria continues to import fuel often from refineries abroad using its own crude oil.
Bayo Ojulari, Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Limited recently admitted that the refineries are still non-functional despite significant investments. He even suggested that the government may eventually sell the plants, raising new questions about transparency, fiscal prudence, and long-term energy security.
Even as billions vanish into maintenance projects that never materialise, the NNPCL continues to request fresh funds for the same purpose.
Despite being Africa’s largest crude oil producer, Nigeria paradoxically spends billions importing refined fuel. The removal of petrol subsidies by the Tinubu administration in 2023 has only deepened public frustration, as fuel prices have tripled and inflation surged to record highs.
Experts warn that without functional refineries, Nigeria’s economy will remain exposed to global market shocks. The government’s inability to refine crude domestically also deprives it of thousands of industrial jobs and billions in foreign exchange savings.
“The refineries are not just assets; they’re symbols of our dysfunction. Each probe without punishment sends a message that corruption pays”, Innocent Okechukwu, a political critic, said.
As lawmakers prepare to summon ministers, contractors, and NNPC executives yet again, the prevailing mood is one of scepticism, not hope. The refineries may someday roar back to life, but until transparency and accountability become more than words, most Nigerians have stopped believing.