A policy-focused civil society group, the Independent Media and Policy Initiative (IMPI), has demanded a comprehensive forensic audit of Nigeria’s four refineries from 2000 to 2023, where $18,bn was said to have spent on the turn Around Maintenance (TAM) of the refineries in Port-Harcourt Warri and Kaduna respectively.

In a statement on Friday by its chairman, Dr. Omoniyi Akinsiju, IMPI dismissed the African Democratic Congress (ADC)’s accusation that $18bn was wasted by APC administrations as “selective and misleading,” insisting that financial mismanagement around the refineries long preceded the ruling party’s tenure.

“We do not object to an audit, but limiting it to the APC years alone is a disservice to transparency,” Akinsiju declared.
“A credible audit must trace all disbursements from the year 2000 onward, which is when Nigeria’s refinery woes deepened under civilian rule.”

Akinsiju cited multiple failed Turnaround Maintenance (TAM) contracts awarded since the 1990s, including a $216 million deal with Chrome Oil Services in 1994 for the Port Harcourt refinery, which allegedly delivered no tangible results.

He added that between 2000 and 2015—during the administrations of former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan—over $4.6 billion was expended on refinery repairs, yet the facilities remained largely dysfunctional. He backed this with findings from a 2015 internal NNPC report, which stated that proper maintenance had ceased since 2001, with components untraceable and infrastructure decaying.

Responding to ADC’s claims about the APC, Akinsiju defended recent rehabilitation efforts, particularly those initiated during the administration of late President Muhammadu Buhari. He stressed that the scope of work under Buhari differed significantly from previous failed maintenance efforts

Quoting former NNPC Group Chief Executive, Mele Kyari, he clarified:

“We are not doing turnaround maintenance; we are doing rehabilitation of the refineries, and this is very different… We repair a segment of it, and then it starts working, and you move to the next segment.”

According to Akinsiju, the recent approach under Kyari involves a staged rebuild rather than complete shutdown, aiming to restore operations in phases.

He urged the federal government to launch an impartial, long-term audit covering all administrations since 2000, saying:

“We must clarify history and ensure accountability. This is not about party politics but national interest and public trust.”

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