Atiku demands suspension of NNPC’s Chinese refinery deal, cites lack of transparency

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has called for the immediate suspension of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s (NNPC Ltd) newly announced refinery partnership deal with two Chinese firms, accusing the Federal Government of pursuing another opaque arrangement that could further endanger Nigeria’s energy sector.

In a statement issued on Thursday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku faulted the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over what he described as a “secretive” Technical Equity Partnership involving Chinese companies, Sanjiang Chemical Company Limited and Xingcheng (Fuzhou) Industrial Park Operation and Management Co. Ltd.

The former vice president said the agreement lacked transparency, technical credibility and public accountability, warning that the country’s refineries could once again become victims of failed rehabilitation arrangements.

“It is both shocking and insulting that after wasting over $2.5 billion on endless refinery rehabilitation scandals, the NNPC is once again asking Nigerians to trust another experiment built on secrecy and questionable competence,” the statement read.

Atiku questioned the technical capacity of the two Chinese firms, arguing that available records do not show any evidence that either company possesses the expertise required to rehabilitate and manage major crude oil refineries such as the Port Harcourt and Warri facilities.

According to him, Sanjiang Chemical is primarily involved in downstream petrochemical production, including surfactants, methanol-to-olefins and light hydrocarbon processing, rather than crude oil refinery operations.

“There is no publicly available evidence anywhere in the world showing that Sanjiang has ever built, operated, or managed a full-scale crude oil refinery of the magnitude and complexity of Port Harcourt or Warri refineries,” Atiku said.

He added that Xingcheng (Fuzhou) Industrial Park Operation and Management Co. Ltd appeared to have no verifiable background in refinery engineering, petroleum processing or hydrocarbon operations.

“By every available corporate and industry record, Xingcheng is essentially an industrial park and infrastructure management company — the equivalent of handing over a hospital’s intensive care unit to a real estate developer simply because they can construct buildings,” he stated.

The former vice president also criticised the Federal Government and NNPC for allegedly bypassing globally recognised engineering and refinery management firms in favour of companies whose technical credentials, he said, remain questionable.

He warned that the deal could become another costly failure following years of unsuccessful turnaround maintenance projects on Nigeria’s refineries.

“It is unacceptable that after years of failed Turnaround Maintenance scams, billions of dollars squandered, and repeated lies about refinery functionality, Nigerians are now being told to celebrate a Memorandum of Understanding signed with companies whose core expertise does not align with the technical realities of refinery rehabilitation,” he added.

Atiku further raised concerns over the financial standing of Sanjiang Chemical, alleging that reports indicate declining revenues, shrinking profitability and mounting liquidity pressures within the company.

“This raises a fundamental question: if a company is already battling financial compression and liquidity concerns in its own operations, how exactly does it intend to shoulder the burden of reviving two of Africa’s most troubled refineries?” he queried.

The former vice president accused the Tinubu administration of continuing what he described as a pattern of opaque public sector transactions and warned Nigerians against allowing another cycle of failed refinery agreements.

“The era where NNPC signs opaque agreements abroad and expects Nigerians to clap blindly is over. National assets are not toys for bureaucratic experimentation. The Port Harcourt and Warri refineries are too strategic to be surrendered to uncertainty, obscurity, and corporate guesswork,” the statement added.

Atiku demanded the immediate publication of the full terms of the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Chinese firms, alongside a transparent technical due diligence report on both companies.

He also called for the disclosure of Nigeria’s financial obligations under the deal, open competitive engagement involving globally reputable refinery operators, and a legislative probe into billions of dollars previously spent on refinery rehabilitation projects without measurable results.

The statement concluded with a warning that Nigerians would hold accountable all officials involved in any arrangement capable of jeopardising the country’s energy security and economic future.