2027: Sowore Vows to Revive Nigeria’s Four Refineries If Elected President

African Action Congress presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has promised to revive Nigeria’s four government-owned refineries if elected president in 2027.

Sowore made the pledge on Tuesday during an interview on Arise Television’s Prime Time, where he also criticised successive administrations over the continued failure of the refineries to operate effectively.

The human rights activist attributed the condition of the refineries to corruption and alleged mismanagement of public funds by previous governments.

According to Sowore, restoring local refining capacity would reduce the cost of importing petroleum products while creating employment opportunities for Nigerians.

“There are four refineries in Nigeria, and I can make them work. If we are refining locally, even if we save N10 per gallon, it is a huge amount considering that we consume over 60 million litres daily,” he said.

Sowore questioned why Nigeria continues to import refined petroleum products from other countries that refine crude locally.

“The fuel importation we are doing is from countries that are refining locally. We have refineries built by Nigerians in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, that we are importing from.

“I think there’s somewhere in Niger Republic where we are importing from. Why can’t we make our own refineries work?” he asked.

The AAC candidate also said he would not remove the fuel subsidy if elected, arguing that government could support vulnerable Nigerians while tackling corruption.

“The person who can sustain the subsidy, support the poor, and still fight corruption is who you go with, not someone who was part of those looting the subsidy funds and benefited from sabotaging the masses,” Sowore said.

His position places him among the 2027 presidential contenders advocating continued government intervention in the petrol market, while other candidates have proposed different approaches to the subsidy debate.