The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) has finally admitted what every Nigerian already knew: the country's idle refineries have cost the nation ₦13.2 trillion in losses. Thirteen point two TRILLION naira. Let that number settle in your mind.
To put this in perspective: ₦13.2 trillion could build 132 world-class teaching hospitals at ₦100 billion each. It could fund free primary and secondary education for every Nigerian child for the next 15 years. It could construct 26,400 kilometers of modern highway—enough to connect every state capital twice over.
Instead, that money evaporated into the pockets of the oil cabal while Nigerians queued for hours to buy fuel at prices that have tripled in three years.
For decades, successive governments have promised to "fix" the refineries. Turn-Around Maintenance (TAM) contracts worth billions were awarded, executed on paper, and the refineries remained dead. The money disappeared. The officials grew rich. And Nigeria, Africa's largest oil producer, continued to import refined petroleum products like a nation without a single barrel of crude.
This is not mismanagement. This is organized theft on a scale that would make history's greatest robbers blush.
The NLM demands: - A full forensic audit of every TAM contract awarded for Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries from 1999 to 2025. - The prosecution of every official—past and present—who signed off on phantom maintenance contracts. - The immediate privatization of all government refineries, since the state has proven it cannot manage them without stealing. - Full transparency on the NNPC's current financial operations, including the subsidy removal proceeds.
The era of quiet looting is over. The NLM will name names. We will publish records. The people deserve to know exactly who ate their ₦13.2 trillion.
