A Public Affairs Analyst and former President of Nigeria and Africa Union of Journalists, Lanre Ogundipe, has said that the recent clarification by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) on its refinery arrangement with Chinese firms reflects a growing credibility crisis surrounding Nigeria’s refinery sector.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Monday, Ogundipe said although NNPC’s explanation that the China deal was merely a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and not a fresh rehabilitation contract was “important and welcome,” the larger concern for Nigerians remained institutional transparency and accountability.
According to him, public skepticism over refinery reforms stems from years of failed turnaround maintenance projects, repeated rehabilitation exercises, and recommissioning announcements that produced little sustainable refining output despite huge public spending.
“The issue confronting Nigerians today is not merely whether the arrangement is technically classified as rehabilitation, partnership, restructuring, or operational collaboration,” he said. “The deeper issue is institutional credibility, transparency, and the painful history of repeated refinery interventions that consumed enormous public resources with limited sustainable outcomes.”
Ogundipe noted that the swift clarification issued by NNPC distinguishing the China arrangement from previous refinery rehabilitation contracts underscores the level of distrust many Nigerians now have toward the state-owned oil company.
He, however, acknowledged that the proposed Technical Equity Partnership model could offer a more commercially viable alternative if properly implemented.
“To be fair, the proposed shift from the old contractor-driven framework toward a Technical Equity Partnership could represent a more commercially disciplined approach if properly structured,” he stated.
The former journalists’ leader said Nigerians deserved clear answers on the financial implications, operational benchmarks, governance safeguards, and transparency mechanisms attached to the proposed arrangement.
He stressed that such questions were not acts of hostility but reflections of “institutional memory” shaped by years of unsuccessful refinery interventions.
Ogundipe further observed that with the emergence of large-scale domestic refining capacity in Nigeria, the national conversation had shifted from whether refining could work locally to issues of governance quality, operational discipline, and commercial sustainability.
“The burden of proof therefore rests squarely on NNPC,” he said. “Institutional credibility will not be restored through clarification alone. It will be restored when performance consistently becomes stronger than explanations.”
The statement was signed by Ogundipe and dated May 11, 2026, in Abuja.
