Human rights lawyer Femi Falana claimed that because Olusegun Obasanjo failed to follow the proper procedures when he proposed to sell the national asset, former President Umaru Yar'Adua turned down a consortium led by Dangote Oil for the sale of the refineries in Port Harcourt and Kaduna.

This is coming after Obasanjo stated that the late president turned down a $750 million offer to run the refineries in Port Harcourt and Kaduna in 2007 from Aliko Dangote, the chairman of the Dangote Group.

During his administration, Obasanjo indicated he had plans to address the issues facing the refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna.

Falana, however, said in a statement released on Friday that Obasanjo had paid $561 million to Bluestar Oil for a 51% share in the Port Harcourt refinery.

Falana said that Bluestar Oil was a joint venture between Transcorp, Zenon Oil, and Dangote Oil.

He added that Yar'Adua thought the agreement did not adhere to due process and was not in the best interests of the country, The Cable reported.

“Under the Privatisation and Commercialisation Act, the Vice President is the chairman of the National Council on Privatisation (NCP), a body that is charged with overseeing the privatisation and commercialisation of public enterprises,” Falana said.

“In utter breach of the Act, President Olusegun Obasanjo sidelined Vice President Atiku Abubakar and took over the privatisation of a number of public enterprises.

“On May 28, 2007, in a similar transaction, 51% of Kaduna Refinery was sold to Bluestar Oil for $160 million. “Before the deal, President Obasanjo had acquired large shares in Transcorp through ‘blind trust’.

“Many interest groups in the country questioned the legal validity and moral propriety of the sales as they were consummated in the last days of the Obasanjo Administration.

“The two powerful trade unions in the oil industry —the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) kicked against the privatisation of the two refineries on grounds of conflict of interest and lack of due process.

“They also alleged that the nation had been shortchanged as the shares acquired in the Port Harcourt refinery for $516 million were worth US$5 billion.”

The unions went on a four-day strike after Falana said that the agreement was not in the best interests of the country.

“Upon the conclusion of the investigation by the federal government, the purported privatisation of the Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries was cancelled by President Umaru Yar’adua.

“It is on record that the cancellation of the privatisation was not challenged in any court as it was carried out contrary to the letter and spirit of the Privatisation and Commercialisation Act.”