Human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) has said former President Olusegun Obasanjo didn’t follow due process when he offered to sell off the Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries to a consortium led by Dangote Oil.
In a controversial interview on Channels Television during the week, Obasanjo disclosed that his successor, late president Umaru Yar’Adua turned down a $750 million offer from Chairman of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, to take over the Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries in 2007.
The elder statesman further said he had plans to fix the challenges bedevilling all the nation’s refineries, including the one in Warri during his presidency.
Falana replies Obasanjo
Reacting in a statement on Friday, January 3, 2024, Falana said Obasanjo had sold a 51% stake in the Port Harcourt plant to Bluestar Oil for $561 million.
According to the SAN, Bluestar Oil was a consortium comprising Dangote Oil, Zenon Oil, and Transcorp.
He further explained that Yar’Adua was unconvinced that the deal was in the nation’s interest and followed due process hence the cancellation.
“Under the Privatisation and Commercialisation Act, the Vice President is the chairman of the National Council on Privatisation (NCP), a body that is charged with overseeing the privatisation and commercialisation of public enterprises,” Falana said.
“In utter breach of the Act, President Olusegun Obasanjo sidelined Vice President Atiku Abubakar and took over the privatisation of a number of public enterprises.
“On May 28, 2007, in a similar transaction, 51% of Kaduna Refinery was sold to Bluestar Oil for $160 million.
ALSO READ: Come and verify – NNPC invites Obasanjo to tour Port Harcourt Refinery
“Before the deal, President Obasanjo had acquired large shares in Transcorp through ‘blind trust’.
“Many interest groups in the country questioned the legal validity and moral propriety of the sales as they were consummated in the last days of the Obasanjo Administration.
“The two powerful trade unions in the oil industry —the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) kicked against the privatisation of the two refineries on grounds of conflict of interest and lack of due process.
“They also alleged that the nation had been shortchanged as the shares acquired in the Port Harcourt refinery for $516 million were worth US$5 billion.”
Falana says Obasanjo’s proposal not in national interest
The revered lawyer stressed that Obasanjo’s arrangement was not in the national interest, triggering the unions embarking on a four-day strike.
“Convinced that the deals were not in the national interest, both unions proceeded on a 4-day strike that almost paralysed the Nigerian economy in June 2007.
“The strike was called off based on the assurance of the federal government to the effect that the deals would be fully investigated.
“Upon the conclusion of the investigation by the federal government, the purported privatisation of the Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries was cancelled by President Umaru Yar’adua.
“It is on record that the cancellation of the privatisation was not challenged in any court as it was carried out contrary to the letter and spirit of the Privatisation and Commercialisation Act.”
Falana called on NUPENG and PENGASSAN not to relent on their protest, which serves as a counteract to the renewed campaign for the privatisation of the nation’s refineries.
He advised those lurking around to buy the government-owned refineries in a manner at variance with the national interest to establish their refineries like Dangote Group.
