Atiku demands suspension of ‘secretive’ NNPC refinery deal

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has 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.

The partnership, which centres on the rehabilitation of Nigeria’s refineries, has sparked controversy following concerns over transparency and the technical competence of the companies involved.

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,” accusing the administration of President Bola Tinubu of attempting to mortgage strategic national assets through opaque agreements.

“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.

According to Atiku, available records show that Sanjiang Chemical is primarily a petrochemical company specialising in surfactants, methanol-to-olefins, and light hydrocarbon processing, rather than crude oil refinery operations.

“There is no publicly available evidence showing that Sanjiang has ever built, operated or managed a refinery of the complexity and scale of the Port Harcourt or Warri refineries,” he stated.

He also questioned the role of Xingcheng (Fuzhou) Industrial Park Operation and Management Co. Ltd, claiming the company lacks verifiable experience in refinery 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 added.

The former presidential candidate further queried why the federal government and NNPC allegedly bypassed globally established refinery engineering firms in favour of companies with what he described as “uncertain technical pedigree.”

Atiku warned that the deal could become another costly failure after years of unsuccessful refinery turnaround maintenance projects and billions of dollars spent without significant results.

He also raised concerns about the financial health of Sanjiang Chemical, citing reports of declining revenues, shrinking profitability, and mounting liquidity pressures.

“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 asked.(BusinessDay)