NECA calls it unpatriotic. TheDiggerNews.com raised questions first. NNPC has not responded.
Abuja: Nigeria’s leading employers’ body has declared it would be “unpatriotic” to endorse NNPC Limited’s new Chinese refinery partnership — demanding partner credentials, full cost disclosure, and independent audits of billions already spent — as questions first raised by TheDiggerNews.com‘s exclusive investigation continue to reverberate across Nigeria’s energy sector.
The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) on Sunday questioned the May 4 Memorandum of Understanding signed in Jiaxing City, China, between NNPC Limited and two Chinese firms, describing it as another “opaque refinery deal” while major questions about past spending remain unanswered.
Ghost Partners and the $2.39 Billion Graveyard
TheDiggerNews.com‘s investigation found that the two selected Chinese partners — Sanjiang Chemical Company, mainly a manufacturer of household chemicals and cosmetics ingredients, and Xinganchen (Fuzhou) Industrial Park Operation and Management Co., Ltd., for whom limited public information is available — have no publicly verifiable experience operating crude oil refineries.
This comes after Nigeria spent $2.39 billion on the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt and Warri Refineries — facilities that collapsed shortly after being restarted, resulting in additional losses of $249.7 million in just five months of operation.
The investigation also highlighted a notable point: NNPC Group CEO Bayo Ojulari — who previously described an earlier refinery restart as a “monumental loss” and “national waste” — signed the new MoU with these partners without disclosing a cost figure, binding timeline, or exit mechanism.
NECA’s Strong Warning
Reacting to the development, NECA Director-General Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde issued a strongly worded statement titled: “Enough of MoU Governance and Failed Revamps on Port Harcourt and Other Refineries.”
“It will be unpatriotic to endorse another opaque refinery deal while questions surrounding past spending and failed rehabilitation projects remain unresolved,” Oyerinde said. “Nigeria cannot continue spending billions of dollars on refinery turnaround maintenance without sustainable refining output or measurable economic value.”
He insisted on full disclosure of past spending, audit reports, partner credentials, local content plans, and technology transfer agreements — demands that mirror precisely the three lines of accountability TheDiggerNews.com identified and published first.
NECA renewed its call for the privatisation or concession of the refineries through transparent, commercially viable arrangements.
The Policy Contradiction Nobody Is Resolving
The signing of the new MoU appears to be at odds with earlier public statements by the Tinubu administration, which had indicated interest in either selling or transparently concessioning NNPC’s refinery assets. The current Technical Equity Partnership is neither a sale nor a concession, and the absence of clarity about how this new agreement aligns with, supersedes, or diverges from the administration’s stated policy has left stakeholders and the public uncertain about the government’s strategic direction for the refineries.
NNPC’s Silence on the Record
TheDiggerNews.com‘s formal inquiry letter to NNPC Limited — sent May 5, 2026, with a midnight May 7, 2026, deadline — has received no response as of the time of this publication.
That lack of response — on questions about the Chinese partners and cost commitments — is now part of the public record.
NECA has spoken. The Nigerian public is watching. NNPC has not answered.
TheDiggerNews.com will pursue the story until NNPC responds to the public’s questions.
𝗞𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲 𝗔𝗱𝗲𝗴𝗼𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱-𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝟭𝟱 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲. 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘀, 𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆. 𝗔𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗘𝗢 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀.𝗰𝗼𝗺, 𝗔𝗱𝗲𝗴𝗼𝗸𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝗱𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵𝘀, 𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗳𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗺.
