By Paul Joseph
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called for the immediate suspension and public scrutiny of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s (NNPC Ltd) proposed technical partnership with two Chinese firms over the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries.
Atiku accused the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of attempting to mortgage Nigeria’s strategic national assets through what he described as opaque and questionable agreements.
In a statement issued on Friday by his media aide, Phrank Shaibu, the former vice president criticised the Memorandum of Understanding signed with Sanjiang Chemical Company Limited and Xingcheng (Fuzhou) Industrial Park Operation and Management Co. Ltd.
According to Atiku, neither company possesses the technical expertise or global track record required to manage or rehabilitate complex crude oil refineries such as those in Port Harcourt and Warri.
He argued that Sanjiang Chemical primarily operates in petrochemicals and downstream chemical manufacturing, rather than large-scale crude oil refining.
“There is no publicly available evidence showing that the company has ever built, operated or managed a refinery of the magnitude and complexity of Nigeria’s state-owned refineries,” the statement said.
Atiku also questioned the competence of Xingcheng Industrial Park Operation and Management Company, claiming available corporate records showed the firm specialised mainly in industrial park and infrastructure management rather than petroleum engineering or refinery operations.
The former vice president expressed concern that the Federal Government and NNPC allegedly ignored globally established refinery engineering firms in favour of companies with what he termed uncertain technical capabilities.
He further alleged that Sanjiang Chemical had faced declining revenues and financial pressures, raising concerns about its ability to support refinery rehabilitation projects in Nigeria.
Atiku demanded the immediate release of the full terms of the agreement, technical due diligence reports on the Chinese firms, and disclosure of Nigeria’s financial obligations under the proposed partnership.
He also called for a legislative probe into previous billions of dollars spent on refinery rehabilitation projects without significant results.
The statement warned against what Atiku described as a continuation of failed refinery rehabilitation efforts carried out without transparency and accountability.
Leave a Reply