RismadarVoice Reporters, May 8, 2026
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 with two Chinese firms, Sanjiang Chemical Company Limited and Xingcheng (Fuzhou) Industrial Park Operation and Management Co. Ltd
In a statement issued on Friday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku described the arrangement as “another dangerous gamble” with Nigeria’s economic future.
The former presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) accused the administration of President Bola Tinubu of attempting to mortgage critical national assets through what he termed opaque agreements lacking transparency, accountability, and technical credibility.
“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.,” the statement read.
Atiku said it was “shocking and insulting” that after spending more than $2.5 billion on refinery rehabilitation projects, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited was once again asking Nigerians to trust another arrangement shrouded in secrecy.
According to him, independent assessments of the two Chinese firms showed that neither company possessed the technical pedigree or global reputation required to rehabilitate and manage complex crude oil refineries such as the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries.
The former Vice President argued that while Sanjiang Chemical is a legitimate petrochemical company, its operations are focused mainly on 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 stated.
Atiku also questioned the competence of Xingcheng (Fuzhou) Industrial Park Operation and Management Co. Ltd., alleging that available corporate and industry records did not show verifiable experience in refinery operations, 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 added.
He further queried why the Federal Government and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited allegedly bypassed globally established refinery engineering and EPC firms in favour of companies whose backgrounds, according to him, raised “more questions than confidence.”
The former Vice President warned that the latest arrangement could turn Nigeria’s refineries into “another expensive black hole of failed promises, reckless experimentation, and opaque transactions.”
“It is unacceptable that after years of failed Turnaround Maintenance scams, billions of dollars squandered, and repeated lies about refinery functionality, Nigerians are now being told to celebrate a Memorandum of Understanding signed with companies whose core expertise does not align with the technical realities of refinery rehabilitation,” he said.
Atiku also raised concerns over what he described as troubling financial indicators surrounding Sanjiang Chemical, alleging that reports pointed to declining revenues, shrinking profitability, and rising 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.
Describing the agreement as a poorly scrutinised arrangement driven by “headline propaganda,” Atiku insisted that Nigerians should not allow what he called repeated cycles of deception surrounding the country’s refineries.
“The era where NNPC signs opaque agreements abroad and expects Nigerians to clap blindly is over,” he stated. “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.”
