Murray-Bruce asks Tinubu to fix Nigeria’s refineries

Former Senator Ben Murray-Bruce has directly challenged President Bola Tinubu to revitalize Nigeria's state-owned refineries, emphasizing the need for improved production and commercial viability.

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We produce crude oil. We possess enormous reserves. We have decades of petroleum expertise. We have spent fortunes on refineries. Yet for years, we became accustomed to exporting crude and importing the products refined from it.

Murray-Bruce lamented Nigeria's paradoxical situation of exporting crude oil while importing refined petroleum products, a practice he described as "economic madness." He pointed out that despite significant investments in the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries, they remain largely non-operational. "We produce crude oil. We possess enormous reserves. We have decades of petroleum expertise. We have spent fortunes on refineries. Yet for years, we became accustomed to exporting crude and importing the products refined from it," he stated.

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That is economic madness of the wrong kind. Now, we need madness of the right kind. Mr President, make the rehabilitation and commercially viable operation of the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries a national obsession.

He urged the President to appoint competent individuals to manage these critical national assets, suggesting that Nigeria needs leaders "who wake up every morning obsessed with results" and are willing to "become unpopular in Abuja if that is the price of becoming useful to Nigeria." Murray-Bruce cited the Central Bank Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, as examples of individuals capable of challenging entrenched interests and driving change.

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We need people who are prepared to become unpopular in Abuja if that is the price of becoming useful to Nigeria.

President Tinubu had previously promised on August 13, 2026, to revive the moribund refineries, assuring that their success would be measured by productivity. He made these remarks while meeting with the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers. Murray-Bruce stressed that Nigerians are tired of excuses and explanations regarding turnaround maintenance, contractors, and committees, demanding tangible results and products from the refineries.

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The refineries you mentioned are going to come back to work. We’re just building a very firm reset and structural reworking of the economy.