The founder of Silverbird Group and one-time senator, Ben Murray-Bruce, has charged President Bola Tinubu on the state of Nigeria’s government-owned refineries, calling for a turnaround in the production level and commercial viability.

He lamented that while Nigeria, a nation with abundant crude oil reserves, has spent large amounts of money to resuscitate these refineries–Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna–it’s become unusually “accustomed to exporting crude and importing the products refined from it,” arguing that the citizenry has grown tired of any excuses from the government.

While stating his concerns via his X handle on Tuesday, the former lawmaker who represented Bayelsa East from 2015 -2019, asked the president to appoint a competent person who would manage the refineries, adding that the nation needed people “who wake up every morning obsessed with results.”

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

On August 13, 2026, Tinubu promised that his administration would revive the moribund refineries, saying that their success would be based on productivity and not mere activities, as obtainable in the past.

Tinubu stated this when he received the Executive President of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, Salimon Oladiti, and members of the union at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Addressing the delegation’s concerns about the long-delayed revival of Nigeria’s state-owned refineries directly, the President said, “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.”

In his tweets, however, Murray-Bruce stated that the Central Bank Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, are examples of people who can “confront a broken system, step on powerful toes, offend entrenched interests and refuse to accept mediocrity simply because mediocrity has become normal.”

He stated, “Nigeria cannot continue to behave like a poor country sitting on the assets of a rich country. 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.

“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.

“And please, no more excuses. Nigerians have heard enough explanations about turnaround maintenance, contractors, technical reviews, committees, timelines and billions spent. We want products coming out of those refineries.

“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. Mr President, make the rehabilitation and commercially viable operation of the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries a national obsession.”

He cautioned that while he supports the Tinubu-led administration and, as a concerned Nigerian, his support shouldn’t be mistaken for “sycophancy.”

“I write this as a supporter of your administration and as a Nigerian who wants you to succeed. But support must never become sycophancy. Sometimes, the greatest service a supporter can render is to tell the President what others around him may be too comfortable—or too frightened—to say,” he added.

He urged the Federal Government to find the structure that can put these refineries in order, saying, “If government cannot operate them efficiently, find the structure that can. Bring in world-class technical partners. Introduce private capital where necessary. Restructure them. Concession them if that produces the best outcome. But whatever model is chosen, the objective must be brutally simple: make the refineries work.”

He drew insights from the Dangote refinery, which produces 650,000 barrels per day.

Murray-Bruce proposed that the government-owned refineries produce half of Dangote refinery’s daily production.

“Dangote has shown what is possible on Nigerian soil. Its refinery was designed for 650,000 barrels per day and has reportedly demonstrated even higher throughput during performance testing.

“So let us establish an audacious benchmark. Mr President, let the three government-owned refining complexes target, at minimum, the equivalent of 50% of Dangote’s nameplate refining capacity—about 325,000 barrels per day of reliable, commercially viable throughput. Then push beyond it.

“Nigeria should not merely aspire to satisfy its domestic demand. Our ambition should be much bigger. We should become a refining powerhouse for Africa and a major exporter of refined petroleum products. And upstream, the instruction should be equally uncompromising,” he said.