By Dele Sobowale

“Mice are mice; that is why mouse traps work.”

More than half of the corruption in the Federal Government, FG, would be wiped out; if only the Presidents responded to those reports the way they should. I stopped downloading, reading and analysing the Annual Report of the Auditor General of the Federation, AuGF, when it became clear to me that the people – Presidents of Nigeria – who should be most interested simply don’t care. Presidents Jonathan, Buhari, and, so far, Tinubu have all failed to avail themselves of the opportunities provided to reduce corruption and save more funds with which to prosecute more of their projects.

Every year, almost invariably, four Ministries, or institutions of the FG account for about half of the mismanagement or embezzlement of public funds queried by the AuGF report – the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, the Ministry of Defence, MoD, the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Petroleum Resources; with special reference to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL. In fact, it is quite possible that Nigeria’s total debt load might be about 15 per cent lighter; if only all our Presidents from Obasanjo had paid attention to the revelations in the AuGF annual reports.

Because this article intends to address a very recent matter concerning NNPCL, no attempt will be made to elaborate on the other organs of government responsible for massive corruption. However, it is impossible to avoid mentioning the 763 duplexes forfeited by the immediate past CBN Governor. Nobody who had taken the trouble to read the audit reports would have been surprised about the revelations. The real question is: how many more are still there to be discovered?

TAM AS ATM FOR SCAM

“What is worth doing is worth doing to excess.” Dr Edwin Land,

Turn Around Maintenance, TAM, prescribed for all Nigerian refineries by the contractors, were last carried out under the Babangida administration – as and when required. It was also during the years 1985 to 1993 that fuel was available at the four refineries. TAMs were supposed to be carried out every two years. Abacha changed everything when he acquired 30 per cent interest in a refinery in a West African country; fuel importation gained momentum. That would have been bad enough. From then, funds allocated for TAMs became ATMs for petroleum sector scams. Here is the evidence.

“Port Harcourt Refinery

The refinery is currently operating at about 47 per cent of total installed capacity. Turn Around Maintenance, TAM,  was last carried out in 1994 before the current TAM, which began in May 2000 is yet to be completed. The old refinery is shut down because, currently, internally generated power is not enough to run the two refineries and public power supply is unreliable.” 

“Warri Refinery

The last TAM was carried out in 1994.The refinery operated from January to February 2000 at about 10.3 percent of installed capacity and was shut down because the Main Heater blew up.”

“Kaduna Refinery

It was shut down in August 2000, partly to allow rehabilitation of the heaters and because the last ATM carried out before then was in 1992; which means that two consecutive TAMs (1994 and 1996) were not carried out.”

Sources: REPORT OF THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON THE REVIEW OF PETROLEUM PRODUCTS SUPPLY AND DISTRIBUTION released by the Federal Government in October 2000. Also: PDP: CORRUPTION INCORPORATED, pages 284-288. 

There was an error in the Special Committee’s report.  No TAM was carried out in all the refineries in 1998; so, by 2000, Warri had missed three, not two TAMs.More shocking, and undisclosed by the Committee, was the fact that funds were allocated for TAMs in 1994, 1996 and 1998; and spent – without TAMs being carried out by NNPC.

Furthermore, the feeble attempt by the PDP government, under Obasanjo, was so riddled with corruption, the TAM carried out in 2000 left the refineries still unable to supply fuel at full capacity. There is no public record, as far as I know, of TAMs actually carried out in 2002, 2004 and 2006, while Obasanjo was in office. Obviously, the Federal Government either deliberately failed to budget for TAMs, in order to pave the way for massive fuel importation; or, there were budgets for TAMs not carried out. The question then is: what happened to the funds?

TAM AS RECURRENT SWINDLE

“It was beautiful and simple; as all truly great swindles are.”

O’ Henry, 1862-1910. 

VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS, VBQ p 239

The easiest person to swindle is someone in a hurry to achieve results. Yar’Adua, Jonathan, Buhari and Tinubu also fell for the TAM swindle by NNPC’s Directors. Fuel supply, like power supply, remains top of the national agenda. Every new President feels compelled to make a lasting statement about the matter; and very quickly too; first 100 days. The syndicates at NNPC were waiting for them. Invariably, they all inherited deliberately wrecked four refineries; which they are told can be repaired and get running, at full capacity, for the investment of a mere $2 billion. Nothing can be more appealing for an official wanting a quick fix to an intractable problem. At any rate, it is not his money. Why bother to ask why predecessors had not tried it? Or, what happened when funds were hastily released for the same purpose? Records are meant to guide important decisions. Nigerian presidents seldom consult the archives before taking some important decisions – despite warnings by those who were witnesses to the failures of the past.

TINUBU THE LATEST VICTIM OF NNPCL

“What’s in a name?” A famous writer once asked. NNPC became NNPCL and the scam goes on. Recent reports reveal how Tinubu had fallen into the NNPC(L) trap by approving $2 million for Mele Kyari to revive the scraps called refineries – despite warnings from people like me. Read.

“P’Harcourt refinery didn’t produce fuel before shutdown – Marketers.”

“Questions over P/Harcourt refinery after $1.5bn rehabilitation.”

The two reports appeared in two prominent national newspapers on May 26, 2025 – exposing not only how the President was duped; but, also revealing the extent of hidden corruption in the petroleum sector. The marketers now telling the truth, when it could no longer be hidden, were aware that NNPCL, under Kyari, had been misleading Tinubu. Efforts by the media to tell the truth were beaten back by the marketers themselves. Finally, there are no questions, contrary to the second paper. Nigerians now know the answers: that the refineries are still scraps; that $2bn again went down the drain and Mele Kyari, who should answer the questions, has fled.

We warned Tinubu; who publicly commended Kyari a few months ago. Pity.