The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association has faulted the recent agreement between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and Chinese firms to revamp and expand the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, describing it as another opaque arrangement amid unresolved questions over past refinery spending.

In a statement issued on Sunday, NECA Director-General Adewale Oyerinde said it would be unpatriotic to support another refinery rehabilitation deal without full disclosure on the previous billions of dollars spent on turnaround maintenance projects.

The association responded to the Memorandum of Understanding signed on May 4, 2026, between NNPC and Chinese firms, Sanjiang Chemical Company Limited and Xinganchen (Fuzhou) Industrial Park Operation and Management Co., Ltd., for the restart, completion, and expansion of the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries.

Oyerinde said, “While we note that the nation desperately needs functional refineries, we cannot ignore the decade-long pattern of billion-dollar rehabilitation contracts that have delivered zero sustained refining output. It will be unpatriotic to endorse another opaque deal while questions on past spending remain unanswered.”

He stated that Nigeria could not afford another round of wasteful refinery spending after expending huge sums with little to show for it.

“It is on record and apt to say that the nation cannot afford another trail of wasteful spending. In the last few years, $25bn had been spent with zero value.

 Between 2010 and 2023, Nigeria expended over N11tn – approximately $25bn – on refinery rehabilitation projects, maintenance, and turnaround programmes, yet the state-owned refineries remain significantly unreliable and non-functional,” Oyerinde said.

The NECA boss added that the $1.5bn rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery, approved in 2021, had failed to deliver sustainable refining output despite repeated assurances.

“The gamble of over $1.5bn on the Port Harcourt refinery in March 2021 is still fresh in the minds of Nigerians. Despite purported claims of 90 per cent readiness by 2026, the facility has not been recorded to produce sufficient barrels of refined product on a sustainable basis,” he stated.

NECA’s DG noted that the refinery had undergone several rehabilitation cycles since the 1990s without achieving lasting operational stability. Oyerinde demanded greater transparency from NNPC on the new agreement and asked the company to disclose details of previous refinery audits and spending.

“While the intention might be right, it is, however, important for the NNPC to provide Nigerians with sufficient informational explanation on the status of past spending and audits carried out on the refineries.

“What are the details of the ‘technical equity partnerships’ of the MOU? With past efforts at TAM riddled with delays, cost overruns, and repeated shutdowns, what are the guarantees and safety nets to ensure the past does not repeat itself at the expense of Nigeria and Nigerians?” he queried.

He also questioned how the latest arrangement would guarantee local participation, technology transfer, and procurement opportunities for Nigerians beyond public announcements. NECA’s DG said Nigerian businesses had borne the burden of decades of energy insecurity through high production costs, fuel import dependence, and job losses.

“Nigerian businesses have paid the price for energy insecurity for over 30 years – high production costs, forex spent on fuel imports, and jobs lost. It will be unpatriotic to clap for another MOU while about $25bn from past revamps produced almost zero results. NNPC must earn public trust by operating more transparently in the face of public scrutiny,” he added.

Oyerinde reiterated NECA’s call for the privatisation or concessioning of the nation’s refineries instead of continuous turnaround maintenance projects.

“We, once again, advocate for the privatisation or concession of the refineries over endless TAM. We urge the urgent fixing of the governance model before fixing the pipes. Nigeria cannot industrialise on imported fuel. But it also cannot develop by burning approximately $25bn on refineries that don’t work,” he stated.

NNPC had announced on May 4, 2026, that it signed the MoU with the Chinese companies to support the completion and operation of the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries through a potential technical equity partnership.

The agreement, signed in Jiaxing City, China, by NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, alongside executives of the Chinese firms, is expected to cover the completion of outstanding work, operation and maintenance of the facilities, refinery upgrades, and expansion of petrochemical and gas-based industrial hubs.