Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, says former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration spent more than $19 billion in the maintenance of refineries in the country during his eight years regime.

Sule said this in an interview with Channels TV on Thursday, June 8.

The governor said Buhari’s government spent more than $19 billion which was used to build Dangote Refinery in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State.

Nigeria has refineries in Kaduna, Port Harcourt, and Warri but none is functioning.

The Dangote Refinery was however commissioned by Buhari on May 22, 2023.

Governor Sule, who stressed that Dangote Refinery would be a game changer in the sector, said: “Look at how much the President Buhari administration spent on fixing the refineries. In the eight years, he spent more money than the $19 billion that Dangote spent in building a refinery.

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“That is one and half times the size of our three refineries combined.”

Sule said Nigeria’s non-functional refineries were responsible for the rise in payment of fuel subsidy, adding: “From the government side, I think we didn’t do a good job. When former President Buhari came in in 2015, prices of crude oil dropped by less than 30 dollars. At that time there was zero subsidy.

“Our three refineries in Nigeria today have a total of 450,000 barrels per day, Dangote is 650,000.

“He spent $19 billion on building it. We spent, not building a new one, but in maintaining these refineries more than $19 billion in eight years, yet they have not been maintained,” the governor stated.

The Star