Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called for the immediate suspension and public scrutiny of a Technical Equity Partnership involving the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and two Chinese firms, Sanjiang Chemical Company Limited and Xingcheng (Fuzhou) Industrial Park Operation and Management Co. Ltd.
In a statement issued by Atiku’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, he described the arrangement under President Bola Tinubu’s administration as a risky and opaque deal that could jeopardise Nigeria’s economic future.
He called the deal “another dangerous gamble” with the country’s economic future.
The African Democratic Congress chieftain accused the Tinubu administration of attempting to mortgage critical national assets through arrangements he said lack transparency, technical credibility and accountability.
He stated, “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.”
He added that it was “both shocking and insulting” for the NNPC to pursue another arrangement after what he described as over $2.5bn spent on unsuccessful refinery rehabilitation efforts.
Atiku said Nigerians were again being asked to trust what he called “another experiment built on secrecy and questionable competence.”
He argued that independent assessments showed neither of the Chinese firms possessed the technical pedigree or global reputation required for the rehabilitation and management of complex refineries such as those in Port Harcourt and Warri.
He noted that Sanjiang Chemical mainly operates 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,” he said.
He added that petrochemical processing was not the same as managing ageing national refineries with deep operational challenges.
Atiku also questioned the competence of Xingcheng (Fuzhou) Industrial Park Operation and Management Co. Ltd., saying available records did not show experience in petroleum engineering or refinery 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,” the statement read.
He further questioned why the Federal Government and NNPC would bypass globally recognised refinery engineering and EPC firms for companies he said lacked relevant expertise.
Atiku warned that the arrangement risked turning Nigeria’s refineries into “another expensive black hole of failed promises, reckless experimentation, and opaque transactions.”
He said it was unacceptable for Nigerians to be presented with another Memorandum of Understanding involving firms whose competencies did not align with refinery rehabilitation needs.
He added that repeated failures and alleged corruption in past turnaround maintenance projects should have made government more cautious.
Atiku also pointed to what he described as troubling financial indicators surrounding Sanjiang Chemical, including declining revenues, reduced profitability and significant short-term debt exposure.
He questioned how a company facing such challenges would manage the burden of reviving two of Africa’s most troubled refineries.
He argued that the deal reflected “the disturbing fingerprints of another hurried and poorly scrutinised arrangement designed more for headline propaganda than sustainable national interest.”
He said Nigerians must not allow those he accused of past failures to continue what he described as a cycle of deception through vague international partnerships.
He concluded that national assets such as the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries were too strategic to be left to uncertainty, obscurity or corporate guesswork.
Titilope Adako is a talented and intrepid journalist, dedicated to shedding light on the untold stories of Osun State and Nigeria. Through incisive reporting, she tackles a broad spectrum of topics, from politics and social justice to culture and entertainment, with a commitment to accuracy, empathy, and inspiring positive change.
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