Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has opened up on how his administration (1999 -2007) tried to rejig Nigeria’s refineries.

According to Obasanjo during an interview with TheCable, just when he had given up on the refineries which he described as a big problem, God did a miracle by sending Aliko Dangote and Femi Otedola, who both approached him to buy two of the refineries.

Obasanjo noted that at the time, Dangote and Otedola said they would buy a 51% stake in Port Harcourt and Kaduna and ended up paying $761 million in two installments.

However, he said Umaru Musa Yar’Adua cancelled the sale and returned the refineries to NNPC.

Obasanjo recalled:

“I knew we had a big problem in our hands. I had virtually given up hope on the refineries when God did a miracle.

“Aliko Dangote and Femi Otedola approached me and said they would be interested in buying two of the four refineries. They said they would buy 51 percent stake in Port Harcourt and Kaduna. I was over the moon.

“I said, finally, this burden would be taken off the neck of the government. They offered $761 million and paid in two instalments. Unfortunately, Umaru (President Yar’Adua) cancelled the sale and returned the refineries to NNPC. Today, we are still where we were.”