The Nigeria Citizens Watch for Good Governance (NCWGG) has expressed support for the recent refinery partnership between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and two Chinese firms, saying the agreement could end Nigeria’s long-standing dependence on imported petroleum products.

The NNPC on Monday signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Sanjiang Chemical Company Limited and Xingcheng (Fuzhou) Industrial Park Operation and Management Co., Ltd. to drive the rehabilitation, restart, and expansion of the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries through a technical equity partnership model.

The agreement, which involves a proposed technical equity partnership with Chinese companies, is aimed at completing rehabilitation work and restarting operations at the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries

Chairman of the NCWGG, Collins Eshiofeh, in a statement on Friday described the Memorandum of Understanding as a strategic intervention capable of reshaping Nigeria’s energy sector.

He said the deal represented a major opportunity for Nigeria to revive local refining capacity and reduce pressure on foreign exchange caused by fuel importation.

According to him, Nigeria has for decades spent billions of dollars on refinery rehabilitation projects under successive administrations without achieving sustainable results.

He said previous turnaround maintenance projects repeatedly failed despite huge financial commitments, leaving the country heavily dependent on imported refined petroleum products.

Eshiofeh, however, noted that the involvement of established Chinese industrial firms marked a significant difference from past arrangements.

He said China had earned a global reputation for delivering major industrial and infrastructure projects, citing the Abuja–Kaduna Railway, Lagos–Ibadan Railway and the Lekki Deep Sea Port as examples of successful Chinese-backed projects in Nigeria.

The group stated that the refinery partnership goes beyond ordinary repairs, adding that it includes plans for long-term operations, maintenance, expansion and the development of petrochemical and gas-based industrial hubs.

It explained that the MoU was only a preliminary agreement aimed at developing a framework for future collaboration and did not amount to an immediate contract award or direct expenditure commitment by NNPC Ltd.

The organisation maintained that refining crude oil locally remained the only sustainable solution to Nigeria’s fuel import dependence, stressing that functional refineries would help conserve foreign exchange, stabilise the naira and reduce inflationary pressures.

While acknowledging the contribution of the Dangote Refinery to domestic refining capacity, the group said Nigeria still needed efficient state-owned refineries to guarantee long-term energy security and stable fuel supply.

The CSO also commended the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd, Bashir Bayo Ojulari, for adopting what it described as a commercially driven and transparent approach to refinery rehabilitation.

It said the current management had prioritised equity partnerships and shared commercial risk instead of relying solely on government-funded rehabilitation programmes.

The group further aligned itself with the position of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, which recently endorsed the refinery agreement while calling for transparency and professionalism in its execution.

It urged Nigerians to support the initiative, expressing confidence that the agreement would restore confidence in Nigeria’s refining sector and strengthen the country’s economic outlook.