Persistent losses led to the shutdown of Nigeria’s state-owned refineries as against claims that they could no longer refine crude oil.

The outgoing President of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Festus Osifo, made the assertion, adding that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) had to stop the refineries from operating after it became clear that the cost of processing crude was higher than the market value of the products being produced.

“So, the refineries were actually shut down, not that they were not functioning,” he said.

According to him, the facilities were still producing some petroleum products, but their operations were not commercially viable. Continuing to process crude under those conditions, he said, would only lead to more losses.

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He illustrated the situation with a simple example, saying, “If you put, let’s say, $5 million worth of crude, you feed it through, when the product comes out, you are supposed to get the product of, let’s say, $6 million worth. But when you feed in that crude, what you now get at the end will not be like $4 million. So, you are losing money.”

Osifo said the experience showed that Nigeria needed to focus on making its refineries commercially viable rather than simply keeping them open.

He also supported plans to bring a Chinese company into the ownership structure of the refineries, arguing that increased private-sector participation could reduce government interference and improve efficiency.

According to him, PENGASSAN is advocating that private investors should acquire up to 51 percent of the refineries, while the government retains 49 percent, similar to the ownership structure of Nigeria LNG Limited.

“They are going to buy some shares of government from this refinery. So, for us, we are advocating that, because the company is about 3 in 1 company, so let them buy up to 51 percent. Let government retain 49 percent as it is in NLNG,” he said.

He said private majority ownership would allow the refineries to take important operational and maintenance decisions without having to seek government approval.

“What that is going to do is that the decision-making is going to leave the hand of government, so that if you want to do any maintenance, you don’t need to discuss it in federal council meetings anymore,” he said.

Osifo argued that private investors were more likely to make decisions based on business realities and profitability rather than political considerations.

“And because they are private people, they take business decisions, not decisions made from sentiment, emotions, or political leanings, but decisions that will grow the business,” he said.

On the wider oil and gas sector, Osifo said the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) had introduced important reforms but warned that frequent policy changes could create uncertainty and discourage investment.

He noted that the PIA established the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), provided for the midstream and downstream regulatory framework and transformed NNPC Ltd into a limited liability company. It also introduced frameworks for host community development and frontier exploration.

However, he expressed concern about subsequent changes to some of the fiscal provisions of the PIA and the use of an executive order to alter provisions of the law.

“For us, one of the ways to attract investment is for you to have some level of certainty,” Osifo said.

He highlighted that investors needed to know the taxes, royalties and other financial obligations they would face before committing money to oil and gas projects.

“But if I’m investing today and I’m doubtful that tomorrow the laws will change and the laws might not favour me, I will be a bit worried about how I carry out my investment,” he said.

Osifo urged the government to allow the PIA and its regulatory framework to operate for a reasonable period before making major changes, noting that oil and gas projects require long-term investments.

“In the oil and gas business, you don’t just invest today and you think you will reap tomorrow. At times, for this investment, you start reaping even after the 30th year,” he said.

The Government of Tanzania has reaffirmed its commitment to deepening economic cooperation with Dangote Group, expressing strong interest in attracting new investments in fertiliser production, energy and industrial infrastructure to support the country’s long-term development agenda.

Minister of State in the President’s Office responsible for Planning and Investment, Hon. Prof. Kitila A. Mkumbo, disclosed this during a visit by a Tanzanian delegation to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals in Lagos, Nigeria.

According to the Minister, the visit was aimed at following up on discussions held earlier this year between President Samia Suluhu Hassan and President and Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, regarding the expansion of Dangote Group’s investment footprint in Tanzania.

He noted that Dangote already operates Tanzania’s largest cement manufacturing plant with an investment valued at approximately $800 million, adding that the company continues to play an important role in the country’s industrial development.

“We have come here to make a follow-up on what they deliberated with our President in terms of further Dangote investments in Tanzania,” Mkumbo said.

He explained that Tanzania is particularly interested in Dangote Group’s expertise in fertiliser production and refinery operations, describing the company’s industrial capabilities as critical to supporting East Africa’s economic growth.

Beyond the proposed investments, the Minister said stronger collaboration between Tanzania and Dangote Group would further enhance economic cooperation across Africa under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

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According to him, although African countries have maintained strong political relationships over the years, the continent must now prioritise economic integration through industrialisation.

“Africa now needs economic liberation, and that can only come through industrialisation,” he said.

Mkumbo described Dangote as Africa’s leading industrialist whose investments are increasingly extending beyond Nigeria to support development across the continent.

He added that Tanzania looks forward to working with Dangote Group as part of a broader vision of accelerating Pan-African industrialisation and strengthening regional manufacturing capacity.

The Minister also highlighted the importance of local refining capacity in improving Africa’s energy security, particularly in light of recent disruptions in global oil markets.

Referring to the impact of tensions around the Strait of Hormuz on global fuel prices, he said increased refining capacity from facilities such as the Dangote Petroleum Refinery would help cushion African economies against external shocks.

According to him, affordable and reliable energy remains one of the most important drivers of economic development, noting that expanded refining capacity across the continent would contribute significantly to lowering energy costs and improving the quality of life for millions of Africans.

The visit forms part of ongoing engagements between the Government of Tanzania and Dangote Group aimed at exploring new opportunities for strategic investment, industrial development and regional economic integration.

Atunse Healthcare Limited has launched in Lagos with a commitment to manufacture and distribute advanced regenerative biologics.

Biztellers reports that the African-led enterprise would also be training scientists and clinicians required to optimise the use of the products, so that Nigerians no longer have to leave the country for advanced medicine.

In a statement on Friday, the company averred that for a generation, the most advanced medicine available has been something Nigerians travelled for — if they could afford the journey.

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It was gathered that Atunse was established on the position that they should not have to, and that the capability to deliver and eventually produce such medicine belongs on the continent rather than at the end of an import chain.

The company is already treating patients across six service lines: aesthetic medicine, longevity and vitality, men’s wellness, women’s wellness, musculoskeletal support and neurological care.

It stated that “Africa imports approximately 99% of the vaccines and more than 95% of the medicines it uses, producing under 1% of its own vaccine supply. The cost of that dependency is visible in Nigeria: an estimated US$2.39 billion left the country in 2024 with citizens seeking care abroad.”

It added that “the greater cost is borne by those who cannot travel, and for whom advanced treatment has simply not been an option. Against this backdrop, the launch of Atunse Healthcare reflects a growing case for building the infrastructure, expertise and partnerships needed to strengthen Nigeria’s health sovereignty.

At the launch, the keynote speaker, Alh Aliko Dangote, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Dangote Group, represented by Fatima Aliko Dangote, Group Executive Director of Commercial Operations for Oil & Gas, Dangote Industries, pointed out that the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the risks of relying heavily on external sources for essential health technologies.

“COVID-19 taught us a very important lesson: dependence is a vulnerability,” he said. “For us in Africa, medical sovereignty cannot just be a slogan. It is about building the capacity to protect our people.”

He described initiatives such as Atunse as important steps towards changing Africa’s position from being predominantly a consumer of advanced medicine to becoming a producer, noting that Nigeria has the talent, entrepreneurial energy and market needed to build that capability.

He added that the future of healthcare cannot be built by government or the private sector acting alone, but through partnerships that bring together policy, investment, science, enterprise and innovation.

Atunse Healthcare Ltd. is a partnership between KweHealth, LLC of the United States, which contributes an established scientific and manufacturing platform, and Tri-State Healthcare System of Nigeria, which contributes clinical delivery and institutional depth. The company is Nigerian-domiciled and Nigerian-based.

It is building four capabilities together rather than in sequence: clinical delivery through a treatment centre in Nigeria; advanced biomanufacturing, working towards cGMP-grade production of advanced biologics in Nigeria, with a roadmap extending to vaccines and, in time, cell and gene therapies; research and clinical translation, so that discovery and evidence generation take place in Africa and African patients are participants in the science rather than only recipients of its outputs; and regulatory capability, developed in active alignment with NAFDAC on the pathway for advanced biologic products.

Local manufacturing carries a workforce consequence the company treats as central rather than incidental. Biomanufacturing, quality assurance, regulatory science and clinical research are high-skill, durable roles, and Nigeria has few of them because it has had little to practise them on.

Atunse’s position is that a country which manufactures without training its own scientists, and without governing its own standards, has substituted one dependency for another.

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, represented by Prof. Akin Abayomi, Lagos State Commissioner for Health, at the event, emphasised the importance of building the specialist workforce needed to support the growth of advanced healthcare in Nigeria.

He said initiatives such as Atunse could help create the kind of environment capable of attracting experienced Nigerian doctors and scientists working abroad back home.

“When we start seeing initiatives like this, it starts to encourage our own experienced specialists to come back home,” Gov. Sanwo-Olu said. “This is the kind of initiative that is attractive to doctors and scientists doing great things abroad.”

He noted that regenerative medicine represents an important frontier for healthcare and stressed the need to build the institutions, skills, data infrastructure and systems required to take advantage of emerging opportunities.

“Government cannot do this alone,” he said. “We need the universities, the researchers, the healthcare providers and the private sector working together. Our role is to create the environment and the systems that allow that innovation to happen and, ultimately, improve the health of our people.”

Gov. Sanwo-Olu also highlighted the importance of data and digital infrastructure in developing a health system capable of responding to both current and future needs, noting the role of Lagos State’s Smart Health Information Platform (SHIP) in digitalising public health facilities and the opportunity for private-sector participation.

Atunse’s workforce ambition is therefore tied directly to its manufacturing and clinical ambitions. The company intends to build capability locally rather than simply establish another route for importing advanced products. The African Union has committed the continent to producing 60% of its own health products locally by 2040.

Atunse works with four investigational platforms developed and manufactured by KweHealth — AVEXO™, KH-1814™, AIOVA™ and NKIRA™. These are used only within approved regulatory and ethical frameworks and with informed consent. They are not approved for any indication, and the company makes no claim of safety or efficacy.

“For a generation, the most advanced medicine of our age has been something Africans travel for. Atunse exists to change the direction of that journey. We begin in Lagos, but what we are building is not for Lagos alone,” said Prof. Kamar T. Adeleke, President and Chairman, Atunse Healthcare Ltd.

Dr. Sola Oluwole, Chief Executive Officer, Atunse Healthcare Ltd., said the company’s ambition extends beyond keeping healthcare spending within Nigeria.

“What Nigeria loses is not only money. It is the demand, the capital and the clinical talent that need never have left. That is not a shortage of resources — it is an absence of capability. We intend to build it here: the treatment, the manufacturing, the distribution, and the people who will run all three.”

Dr. Frederick A. Kweh, Chief Science and Technology Officer, Atunse Healthcare Ltd., added: “Africa is not asking to be admitted to this field. It is joining it — as a manufacturer and as a clinical partner, working on the health problems this continent actually has.”

The launch brings together Atunse’s immediate clinical operations with its longer-term ambition to establish an African platform for advanced medicine — one that combines treatment, manufacturing, research, regulation and workforce development.