The House of Representatives has set up another committee to investigate the moribund state of the country’s refineries and the over $18 billion spent on their rehabilitation in the last two decades, the latest in the series of probes of refineries that have yet to yield result.

The House reached this resolution during plenary on Thursday after considering a motion on ‘Non-functionality of State-owned Refineries’ sponsored by Sesi Whingan, member representing Lagos.

The House resolved to establish a joint committee composed of members drawn from the Committees on Petroleum Resources (Upstream and Downstream), Public Accounts, Anti-Corruption, Finance, and Legislative Compliance to investigate funds appropriated and disbursed for the rehabilitation of the four state-owned refineries located in Port Harcourt (two), Kaduna and Warri between 2010 and 2024.

The Committee is to ascertain the status of the refineries, examine how public funds were utilised, and identify agencies responsible for infractions or mismanagement.

The decision comes despite the existence of several ongoing investigations into the same matter. In July, 2025, the Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) launched twchnical sub-commitees to investigate investments into the Turnaround Maintenance (TAM) of local refineries and why the exercise has not yeileded any result.

A similar probe was conducted in 2023, when lawmakers examined the N11.3 trillion allegedly spent by the Federal Government on TAM projects between 2010 and 2020. None of these investigations has produced a definitive outcome or accountability report.

During Thursday’s debate, some lawmakers objected to the creation of another committee, arguing that standing committees and sub-committees were already handling related matters. However, Whingan insisted that a new, broader probe was necessary to tackle what he described as “a longstanding national embarrassment.”

He lamented the persistent non-functionality of the refineries despite two decades of rehabilitation efforts and billions of dollars spent. Whingan referenced recent comments by industrialist Aliko Dangote and former President Olusegun Obasanjo, both of whom questioned the viability of the refineries and described the huge rehabilitation spending as wasteful.

He further recalled that in 2007, under Obasanjo’s administration, Dangote and other private investors acquired the refineries, but the sale was reversed by the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, who opted instead for government-led rehabilitation, a decision that has produced no visible progress to date.

“On Thursday, July 10, 2025, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Limited, Engr. Bayo Ojulari, in an interview sought to distance the current administration from the monumental mismanagement of Nigeria’s state-owned refineries confirming their continued non-functionality despite significant investments estimated at $18 billion, and proposed the potential sale of these assets, thereby raising critical questions about fiscal responsibility, strategic asset management, and the long-term implications for Nigeria’s energy security and economic stability”, he said.

He further expressed concern that despite consistent annual budgetary allocations for refinery rehabilitation, there is no verifiable evidence of progress, describing the situation as a “gross misuse of public funds” and a “betrayal of public trust.”

He emphasised that the nation’s economic stability and energy security are closely tied to a functional downstream petroleum sector, especially following the removal of petrol subsidies by the Tinubu administration, a policy that has heightened public hardship and underscored the need for domestic refining capacity.

Benjamin Kalu, the Deputy Speaker who presided over the session, gave the committee two weeks to report back for further legislative action. This echoes past timelines on previous probes that have often expired without tangible outcomes.

This lack of transparency and tangible outcomes continues to fuel public sentiment that these hearings are more about financial gain and political maneuvering than actual governance.

Chidi Omeje, a Political analyst Chidi described the repeated probes as “mere theatrics,” suggesting they serve more as political exercises than genuine efforts to deliver transparency or reform. (BusinessDay)