Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called for the immediate suspension of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) agreement with two Chinese firms over plans to restart the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries.
In a statement issued on Friday through his spokesperson, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku described the deal as a “dangerous gamble” with Nigeria’s economic future, accusing the current administration of engaging in opaque arrangements lacking transparency and technical credibility.
The NNPCL had recently announced a partnership with Sanjiang Chemical Company Limited and Xingcheng (Fuzhou) Industrial Park Operation and Management Co. Ltd. to support the rehabilitation and restart of Nigeria’s refineries.
However, Atiku argued that the firms lack the required expertise for large-scale crude oil refinery operations, insisting that their backgrounds do not match the technical demands of such projects.
He said Sanjiang Chemical is primarily a petrochemical and fine chemicals producer, not a refinery operator, while Xingcheng reportedly has no verifiable experience in petroleum engineering or refinery management.
Atiku questioned why the Federal Government and NNPCL would bypass globally recognized refinery engineering companies in favour of firms he described as lacking proven capacity in refinery operations.
He warned that the arrangement could repeat past failures in refinery rehabilitation, which he said have already cost Nigeria billions of dollars without meaningful results.
The former Vice President demanded full transparency on the Memorandum of Understanding, including publication of its terms, financial obligations, and a detailed technical assessment of the partner companies.
He also called for open competitive bidding involving globally reputable refinery operators and a legislative probe into previous refinery rehabilitation spending.
Atiku insisted that Nigeria’s critical national assets must not be subjected to “experimental or opaque arrangements,” stressing that the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries are too important for mismanagement.