The death of former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari at the age of 82 on Sunday brought renewed focus to his legacy, particularly in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, the lifeblood of Africa’s biggest economy, where investments have been too few and far between.
Buhari’s legacy in the oil and gas sector is a paradox. He was the president who finally broke the jinx and passed the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), a reform many of his predecessors failed to deliver.
He oversaw the corporatisation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), set ambitious gas utilisation goals, and launched infrastructure projects that, if completed, could change Nigeria’s energy landscape.
Yet, these strides were counterbalanced by a litany of failures: ballooning fuel subsidies, escalating oil theft, comatose refineries, and declining oil production, despite record oil prices globally.
Much of his appeal lay in the anti-corruption ethos that was a central plank of his agenda, both as a military (1983 to 1985) and civilian ruler (2015 to 2023). He said endemic corruption in Nigeria’s political culture was holding people back.
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“I will remain minister of petroleum; I will appoint a minister of state for petroleum,” Buhari said while addressing some selected reporters in New York in September 2015.
Supporters hailed this decision as a commitment to curbing corruption, rooting out inefficiencies, and bringing accountability to a ministry plagued by graft and opacity.
Critics, however, argued that it concentrated too much power in one individual, stifled oversight, and discouraged technocratic leadership.
Petrol subsidy removal
Before assuming the presidency in 2015, Buhari was a vocal critic of Nigeria’s fuel subsidy policy under the then-ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
By December 2015, his government scrapped the Petroleum Support Fund and announced an end to subsidies, claiming that petrol would sell at around N85 per litre without government support.
Ibe Kachikwu, petroleum minister, emphasised that the scheme was plagued with corruption and promised to redirect resources towards reviving Nigeria’s ailing refineries.
However, in a surprising move, the government increased fuel prices to N145 per litre in 2016, while still quietly maintaining the subsidy under a different name. By 2018, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) revealed that the actual cost of petrol landing was N171.40 per litre, well above the N145 retail price.
This price disparity was covered by what the government termed ‘under-recovery,’ and N305 billion was allocated for it in the 2019 budget. By 2020, subsidy costs had reached N3 trillion over two years.
The global decline in oil prices during the COVID-19 pandemic presented another opportunity for subsidy reform.
Buhari acknowledged in his 2020 Independence Day speech that Nigeria’s low pump prices were unsustainable amidst falling revenue and foreign exchange reserves. He emphasised the need for tough decisions and pointed out that petrol prices in Nigeria were far lower than in other oil-producing nations like Chad, Ghana, and Saudi Arabia.
The government again announced its intention to end fuel subsidies in 2021 and proposed a N5,000 monthly transportation grant for low-income Nigerians. However, facing union opposition, the plan was postponed. Zainab Ahmed, Nigeria’s finance minister, later stated that subsidy removal was ‘problematic’ and would exacerbate hardship, prompting another policy reversal. The government planned to spend N3 trillion on subsidies in 2022 alone.
In early 2023, the government shifted its subsidy phase-out target to the second quarter, acknowledging it as a major source of revenue loss. By then, monthly subsidy spending had exceeded N400 billion. Still, in April, the National Economic Council (NEC) advised against removing subsidies during Buhari’s final months in office.
Refinery inertia
Nigeria owns four major refineries, two in Port Harcourt and one each in Warri and Kaduna — but they have been largely non-functional for years.
Buhari criticised past administrations for failing to maintain these refineries, citing that two were built during his time as petroleum minister in the 1970s.
He pledged in 2015 to revive the facilities, aiming to stop fuel imports. Despite multiple promises, including deadlines in 2019 and 2020, none of the refineries became fully operational. In 2020, over N10 billion was spent on facilities that refined no crude.
The government approved $1.5 billion for the Port Harcourt refinery overhaul in 2021, and later extended contracts for Warri and Kaduna. However, progress remained slow, and deadlines were repeatedly missed.
As a result, Nigeria continues to rely heavily on fuel imports. Attention has now turned to the private Dangote Refinery, launched in Lagos, as the new ‘bride’ for domestic refining.
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Oil theft & pipeline vandalism
Buhari’s tenure saw an alarming rise in oil theft and pipeline vandalism, severely affecting national revenue. By some estimates, Nigeria was losing around 250,000 barrels of crude oil daily. In 2018, over 53 million barrels disappeared, while losses in 2019 and 2020 amounted to billions of dollars.
In 2021 alone, the NNPC reported $4 billion lost to oil theft. The following year, nearly $1.5 billion was lost in just a few months. The NNPC, under Mele Kyari, uncovered illegal connections siphoning oil from pipelines like the Trans Forcados line, some in operation for nearly a decade.
To tackle this, the government awarded a controversial pipeline surveillance contract to ex-militant Government Ekpemupolo (Tompolo), whose security outfit discovered dozens of illegal tapping points in Delta and Bayelsa. Despite efforts, the scale and sophistication of oil theft remain a severe challenge.
Petrol scarcity
Petrol scarcity persisted throughout Buhari’s time in office. The first major scarcity began in late 2015, followed by another in 2016, which prompted the petrol price hike to N145. Subsequent shortages occurred regularly, particularly during festive seasons.
In 2021 and 2022, prolonged queues returned, made worse by the importation of substandard petrol containing excess methanol. Although Buhari ordered accountability, the issue was not conclusively resolved. Promises of adequate supply frequently fell flat, and fuel scarcity continued into 2023, highlighting the administration’s inability to stabilise fuel supply.
Hits
Petroleum industry reforms
Perhaps Buhari’s most enduring legacy in the oil and gas sector was the eventual passage of the long-awaited Petroleum Industry Act in 2021. After nearly two decades of stagnation and failed legislative attempts, the PIA finally created a comprehensive legal and regulatory framework for the industry.
It established the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NURC) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), both intended to bring efficiency, transparency, and investment confidence to the sector.
Under Buhari, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was commercialised and transformed into NNPC Limited, a move that was seen as historic.
The new entity was registered under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) and was expected to operate independently, free from political interference, and focused on profitability. This marked a significant shift from the old, state-heavy model toward a commercially driven national oil company.
Decade of Gas initiative
Buhari’s administration also launched the ‘Decade of Gas’ initiative in 2020, aiming to reposition Nigeria as a major gas-based industrial economy. The strategy included incentives for investors, development of gas infrastructure, and policy frameworks to encourage domestic utilisation. Gas pipelines such as the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) pipeline began under his watch, intended to open new corridors of industrial activity in Northern Nigeria.
While the project saw slow progress due to funding and insecurity, its initiation was a statement of intent to diversify from crude oil and capitalise on Nigeria’s vast gas reserves, the ninth largest globally.
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AKK gas pipeline project
The Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline was another major initiative launched under Buhari. Designed to transport two billion cubic feet of gas per day, it aims to power plants and industries across central and northern Nigeria.
As of April 2025, the project was over 72 percent complete, with most pipelines manufactured and significant portions already installed.
For a man who once declared that “if Nigeria does not kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria,” Buhari’s tenure ended with many asking whether the oil sector killed his reformist zeal, or whether he simply lacked the political courage to see it through.
