The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has expressed strong reservations over a recent agreement between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and two Chinese firms aimed at revamping and expanding the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries.
The deal, signed on May 4, 2026, involves Sanjiang Chemical Company Limited and Xinganchen (Fuzhou) Industrial Park Operation and Management Co., Ltd., and is expected to support the completion, rehabilitation, and possible expansion of the two refineries.
But NECA says the agreement raises fresh concerns about transparency, especially in light of years of heavy spending on refinery rehabilitation projects that have yielded little or no sustained production.
Speaking on Sunday, NECA Director-General Adewale Oyerinde said Nigerians cannot continue to accept new refinery deals without clear answers on previous expenditures.
He described it as “unacceptable” to move forward with another major rehabilitation plan while questions remain about how past billions of dollars were spent.
According to him, between 2010 and 2023, Nigeria spent an estimated $25bn (about N11tn) on refinery rehabilitation and turnaround maintenance projects, yet the facilities remain largely underperforming.
He also referenced the 2021 approval of about $1.5bn for the Port Harcourt refinery rehabilitation, noting that despite repeated assurances of progress, the plant has yet to deliver consistent refining output.
“The nation cannot afford another cycle of wasteful spending,” Oyerinde said, adding that previous rehabilitation efforts have been plagued by delays, cost overruns and repeated shutdowns.
NECA further questioned the details of the new memorandum of understanding, asking what technical and financial safeguards have been put in place to prevent a repeat of past failures.
The association also called on NNPC to publicly disclose audit reports and provide clarity on previous refinery investments.
Oyerinde stressed that Nigerian businesses have borne the burden of the country’s ongoing energy challenges through high production costs, fuel import dependence and job losses.
He argued that without structural reforms, including improved governance and transparency, further investments in state-owned refineries may not yield better results.
NECA reiterated its long-standing position that the federal government should consider privatising or concessioning the refineries, rather than continuing with turnaround maintenance contracts.
“We urge the government to fix the governance structure first before fixing the refineries,” he said.
The association maintained that while Nigeria urgently needs functional refineries to reduce fuel import dependence, repeated large-scale rehabilitation projects without accountability risk deepening public distrust.
NNPC had earlier announced that the new agreement with the Chinese firms would focus on completing outstanding work, improving operations and maintenance, and potentially upgrading the facilities into broader petrochemical and energy hubs.
