The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association has raised serious concerns over the recent Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and Chinese firms for the “restart, completion and expansion” of the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries.
It also warned that Nigeria could not afford another failed refinery rehabilitation project.
Vanguard reported that in a statement issued in Lagos weekend, the Director-General of NECA, Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, described the new agreement as troubling, in view of the billions of dollars previously spent on refinery turnaround maintenance projects with little or no measurable results.
According to him, while the country urgently requires functional refineries to reduce dependence on imported petroleum products, Nigerians deserve clear explanations on the outcome of previous rehabilitation expenditures before fresh agreements are signed.
“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”, Oyerinde stated.
NECA noted that between 2010 and 2023, Nigeria reportedly spent over N11 trillion, estimated at about $25 billion, on refinery rehabilitation projects, maintenance programmes and turnaround maintenance operations, yet the nation’s state-owned refineries remain largely non-functional.
The employers’ body specifically referenced the $1.5 billion rehabilitation project approved for the Port Harcourt Refinery in 2021, arguing that despite repeated assurances by authorities, the refinery has failed to deliver sustainable refining output.
Oyerinde said: “The gamble of over $1.5 billion on the Port Harcourt refinery 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 further recalled that since the 1990s, the Port Harcourt refinery has undergone several rehabilitation cycles spanning 2000–2010, 2012–2015 and 2016–2021, all involving huge public expenditures without corresponding operational success.
NECA questioned the transparency surrounding the latest MoU with the Chinese firms and demanded full disclosure of the terms of the agreement, particularly details relating to technical equity partnerships, procurement processes, technology transfer arrangements and safeguards against cost overruns and project delays.
The association also stressed the need for accountability regarding previous spending on the nation’s refineries, insisting that public trust can only be restored through openness and measurable results.
NECA Director General said “Nigerian businesses have paid the price for energy insecurity for over 30 years through high production costs, forex spent on fuel imports and jobs lost.
“It will be unpatriotic to clap for another MoU while about $25 billion from past revamps produced almost zero result.”
The body reiterated its longstanding position that the Federal Government should consider privatisation or concession of the refineries instead of embarking on endless turnaround maintenance programmes.
According to NECA, fixing governance issues in the downstream petroleum sector is more critical than repeatedly spending public funds on rehabilitation projects that fail to deliver.
“We support the revamping of the Port Harcourt refinery because of its potential for job creation and reducing dependence on limited supply channels, but only with transparency, accountability and a proven business model.
“The era of announcing MoUs and turnaround maintenance projects while citizens continue to buy fuel at extortionate prices must end. We demand answers, not agreements”, Oyerinde added.
