Atiku Demands Halt to NNPC’s ‘Secretive’ Port Harcourt, Warri Refineries Deal With Chinese Firms

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called for the immediate suspension of the “Technical Equity Partnership” announced by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) involving two Chinese firms — Sanjiang Chemical Company Limited and Xingcheng (Fuzhou) Industrial Park Operation and Management Co. Ltd. He wants the full terms of the deal made public before any work proceeds.

In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku described the arrangement as “another dangerous gamble” with Nigeria’s economic future. He accused the Tinubu administration of attempting to mortgage critical national assets through opaque deals that, in his words, lack technical credibility, transparency, and national accountability.

Atiku’s Core Complaint

“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 said.

The former VP argued that independent assessments of both Chinese firms show neither company has the pedigree, technical depth, or global reputation needed for a rehabilitation project as complex as the Port Harcourt or Warri refineries.

On Sanjiang Chemical, Atiku’s statement acknowledged it as a legitimate petrochemical company but said its business is fundamentally downstream fine chemicals — surfactants, ethylene oxide, methanol-to-olefins, and light hydrocarbon processing. That is not the same as 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,” he stated.

On Xingcheng, Atiku was more blunt. He said corporate and industry records show the firm has no verifiable experience in petroleum engineering or hydrocarbon processing. “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,” the statement noted.

Financial Red Flags

Atiku also raised concerns about Sanjiang Chemical’s finances. Despite being listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the company reportedly faces declining revenues, shrinking profitability, and significant short-term debt exposure. “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.

He said the arrangement bears “the disturbing fingerprints of another hurried and poorly scrutinised deal designed more for headline propaganda than sustainable national interest.”

Demands Made

Atiku laid out five specific demands: immediate publication of the full MoU terms; a transparent technical due diligence report on both firms; disclosure of Nigeria’s financial commitments under the deal; open competitive engagement involving globally reputable refinery operators; and a full legislative investigation into billions previously spent on refinery rehabilitation without results.

“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,” he warned.

A Contrary View

Not everyone agrees with Atiku’s position. The Nigeria Citizens Watch for Good Governance, through its Chairman Collins Eshiofeh, called the NNPC deal “a bold, forward-looking step” and a strategic masterstroke for energy security. The group commended NNPC Group Chief Executive Bayo Ojulari, saying he spent six months on rigorous engagement before settling on the Chinese partnership.

“The billions wasted in the past were wasted by other hands, not by Bayo Ojulari,” the group said, urging Nigerians to “give this partnership a chance.”

The deal — reportedly worth N3.2 trillion — was signed via MoU in early May 2026 and covers rehabilitation of both the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, two facilities that have collectively swallowed billions of dollars in maintenance spending over the years with little to show for it.

Sources: ThisDay Live, Guardian Nigeria, Daily Trust