Atiku demands halt to NNPC’s P’Harcourt, Warri refineries deal with Chinese firms

A former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, on Friday called for the immediate suspension and public scrutiny of the “Technical Equity Partnership” recently announced by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited involving two Chinese firms, Sanjiang Chemical Company Limited and Xingcheng (Fuzhou) Industrial Park Operation and Management Co. Ltd.

Atiku, in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, described the deal as “another dangerous gamble” with Nigeria’s economic future.

The chieftain of the African Democratic Congress accused the administration of President Bola Tinubu of attempting to mortgage critical national assets through opaque arrangements allegedly lacking technical credibility, transparency, and accountability.

He said, “We are demanding an immediate suspension and public scrutiny of the “Technical Equity Partnership announced by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited involving two Chinese firms, Sanjiang Chemical Company Limited and Xingcheng (Fuzhou) Industrial Park Operation and Management Co. Ltd.

“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.”

According to him, independent assessments of the two Chinese firms involved in the Memorandum of Understanding indicated that neither company possesses the pedigree, technical depth, or global reputation associated with the rehabilitation and management of complex crude oil refineries such as those in Port Harcourt and Warri.

The statement noted that Sanjiang Chemical, though a legitimate petrochemical company, primarily specialises in surfactants, ethylene oxide, methanol-to-olefins, and light hydrocarbon processing rather than crude oil refining.

“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.

“Processing petrochemical derivatives is not the same as running an ageing national refinery burdened with decades of operational decay,” Atiku stated.

He also questioned the competence of the second company, Xingcheng (Fuzhou) Industrial Park Operation and Management Co., Ltd., alleging that available corporate and industry records did not show verifiable experience in petroleum engineering, refinery operations, or hydrocarbon processing.