Port Harcourt refinery’s siege queries deal, exposes NNPCL’s failing for Chinese takeover

The gates of the Port Harcourt Refinery have been sieged by host communities who said they would remain at the gates till their demands were met.

The community people demand for reconstitution of the Joint Community Relations Committee (JCRC) saying its dormancy must be responsible for the lack of attention to the host communities in the negotiations that led to agreements signed by the NNPCL and two Chinese companies to revamp the Refinery.

The community had said on Monday when the MOU was announced from China that; “The community was not carried along in the MoU and were therefore not abreast of the details of what was signed or contained in the agreement, especially as it concerns the host communities.”

Industry experts thus believe that the NNPCL should have considered the realities of the Niger Delta by reaching the host communities through the NNPCL Community Relations Department ahead of the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with the Chinese investors, knowing it was going to provoke crisis. They say it was the duty of the NNPCL on behalf of Nigeria to provide peaceful environment as part of their duty and equity.

Leader of the host communities at the gates, Timothy Mgbere, told newsmen that the protest was about the reconstitution of the JCRC whose tenure he said has elapsed.

He said the community without the JCRC does not have any platform to interface with the refinery and NNPCL management.

“So, this new MoU perhaps would have carried the community along if the JCRC was in place”, said Mgbere, President Alesa Graduates Forum.

The Bashir Ojulari-led NNPCL had on Monday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with two Chinese firms: Sanjiang Chemical Company Limited and Xingcheng (Fuzhou) Industrial Park Operation and Management Co. Ltd to accelerate the rehabilitation, restart, and expansion of the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries.

A section of the host communities led by one Emmanuel Olaka hailed the agreement and promised peaceful atmosphere. This position was supported by the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) for allegedly driving what it called an innovative technical equity partnership model. They said this prioritises performance, accountability, and long-term sustainability.

RETROAN said Ojulari’s commitment to moving beyond traditional rehabilitation approaches toward globally aligned operational frameworks was a significant step in repositioning Nigeria’s refining sector for efficiency and profitability.

Sources said the NNPCL should have inaugurated the JCRC to begin community engagement ahead of the MoU to create peaceful instead of toxic atmosphere to welcome the Chinese. The community people have insisted they would remain at the gates until their demand was met. The host communities are said to be made up of Alesa, Alode in Eleme LGA), and Okrika in Okrika LGA. It was gathered that Okirika JCRC did not change their team, but that the Alesa and Alode JCRCs insist on fresh inauguration for the community to benefit the Refinery takeover.

The monarch of the community is said to have endorsed the nominees except the LGA. Mgbere is said to be head of the new Community Committee. It is the Refinery authority that is expected to inaugurate the new JCRC who would be nominated by the communities.

One of the community relations experts in the area, Emmanuel Kote, told BusinessDay that the MoU signed in China was above the level of the PHRC JCRC. “It is a policy decision of the FG, which ought to have embedded the interests and concerns of the host communities.”

He admitted that the JCRC is the link the host communities have had with PHRC, which represents NNPCL in Eleme, and the communities think that if JCRC was in place, they would have used it to ask questions and engage with NNPCL.

“I do not yet know the details of the MoU the FG/NNPCL signed with the Chinese firms to know if the interests of the communities were accommodated. If they were not accommodated, it is expected that they should be done subsequently as the execution of the MoU progresses.

“That notwithstanding, the standard that the host communities have been demanding is that of Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals Limited where the hosts communities own equities in the Refinery and earn dividends from the equities. The Alesa community in particular is used to owning 10% equity in a housing project coming up in their area by the Mayor of Housing, and this may have sharpened their appetite for equity in projects in their community.

The Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) makes provisions for host communities trust funds, but the PHRC has not constituted one, allegddly hiding behind dormancy of the Refinery and instability of the management since after the PIA came into effect.

Kote advised: “It will be necessary that the NNPCL and the Chinese lessees engage the host communities to resolve the issues. NNPCL has not done well for the host communities of PHRC.”

Energy and Maritime Reporters (EMR), a fast-emerging media-based pressure group that has become an industry watch group, has called for smooth takeover and expansion of the Refineries.

Reacting to the siege, Martins Giadom, the chairman of EMR, called on all parties involved in the Port Harcourt Refinery takeover project to ensure harmony and maintain proper communication for a seamless transition and timely expansion of the facility. The group stressed that collaboration was critical to avoiding disruptions that could undermine the project’s progress.

Speaking during the Energy and Maritime Reporters Roundtable on RSTV in Port Harcourt, EMR emphasized the need for effective cooperation among stakeholders. The organization noted that a unified approach would strengthen confidence in the process and accelerate the refinery’s rehabilitation and expansion.

EMR also urged relevant Federal Government departments to actively engage and liaise with key stakeholders to prevent unnecessary community tensions and disagreements. It warned that such bickering could derail the smooth takeover and delay the timely expansion of the Port Harcourt Refinery.

The association reiterated that transparency, stakeholder inclusion, and open communication remained essential to sustaining public trust and ensuring the project delivered on its economic and energy security objectives for Nigeria.