Background
- On 15 July 2025, the government of Ondo State announced that it had concluded plans with Backbone Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (BINL) to construct and operate a
500,000 barrels per day (bpd) oil refinery at the Sunshine Industrial Park in Ogboti,
Eruuna, and the Sunshine Free Trade Zone (FTZ), located in Ilaje Local Government
Area of the State at a cost oof $15 billion. The first phase of the refinery was scheduled for completion within 48 months. The announcement was posted on the official website of the state. https://ondostate.gov.ng/index.php/2025/07/15/binl-ondo-state-to-build-15bn-oil-refinery-at-ilaje-lga/ - A year earlier, BINL had mulled $172 billion investments in Nigeria’s mining,
agriculture, housing, transportation and energy sectors over 22 years period. - Backbone Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (BINL) is a consortium of three companies,
(i) Integrated Advanced Backbone Ltd, (ii) Netzone Engineering Ltd, and (iii)
Tunnelcraft. - On 4 November 2025, BINL announced that it had secured project funding exceeding $50 billion from NEFEX Holdings Limited of Canada for the construction of a
500,000 barrels-per-day refinery and the development of a 1,471-hectare Sunshine Free Trade Zone in the Ilaje area of Ondo State. - BINL’s Vice-President for Corporate Services, Mr Wale Adekola, disclosed that
NEFEX Petroline is involved in engineering and construction services for ports,
terminals and logistics facilities, including pipelines and facilities in the Oil and Gas
Industry. - On Wednesday 5 November 2015, the Ondo State government announced that it had signed a $50 billion investment agreement with a consortium of international firms under the Sunshine Infrastructure Joint Venture to establish a major refinery and free trade zone in the state.
- Ebenezer Adeniyan, the Chief Press Secretary of Governor Ayedatiwa, disclosed that the consortium included Backbone Infrastructure, MJ Care Investment Finance, China Harbour, and Honeywell OUP.
Before We Roll Out the Drums - As citizens of Ondo State, we cannot but celebrate the huge investment that the
government of Mr. Lucky Ayedatiwa has attracted, considering the transformational - effect it would have on the economy of Ondo State and even other adjoining states. The large-scale impacts of a $50 billion investment across economic growth, employment, government revenue, and infrastructure development are bound to be phenomenal. If one is not mistaken, the BINL investment will be the single largest investment to be made in the country in decades, well surpassing the total Final investment Decisions (FIDs) in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, which is in the region of $8 billion since President Tinubu assumed office in 2023.
- While we appreciate BINL for identifying Ondo State as its preferred investment
destination and applaud the Lucky Ayedatiwa led Ondo State government for
midwifing such a monumental investment agreement, we noticed several grey areas
and clear red flags in the whole deal, which makes it suspect and questionable.
One Investment, Multiple Promoters - Between July 2025, when BINL announced its readiness to partner with the Ondo State government and November 5, 2025 when investment agreement was signed by the two parties, media reports had associated at least nine companies with the investment. First, there is the three consortiums that form BINL – (i) Integrated Advanced Backbone Ltd, (ii) Netzone Engineering Ltd, and (iii) Tunnelcraft; NEFEX Holdings Limited of Canada and NEFEX Petroline; Backbone Infrastructure, MJ Care Investment Finance, China Harbour, and Honeywell UOP.
Who Are the Promoters?
- We conducted a background check on each of these companies and below are our
findings: - BINL: It is a consortium of three firms, located on 4th Floor, Tower Churchgate Plaza, Cadastral Zone, Constitution Avenue, Abuja. The CAC registration number is RC –
- The company was incorporated in 02 March 2022 with 1000000 NGN as paid
share capital. The nature of business is mining, smelting and refining of minerals,
acquire or take on lease to work on mines, minerals and mining rights. BINL legal
address is 43A Afribank Street (9th
-12th floors), Victoria Island, Lagos State. Oshobi 2 Oyetola is the person with significant control, having 100% ownership. The other officer is Aghoghomena Happiness Arhere, Legal Practitioner. The website of BINL does not depict a consortium with an outlook of a $50 billion investment. - Integrated Advanced Backbone Project Ltd: A part of BINL, the company registered
on 10 October 2016 with CAC registration number RC 1366463 and 1000000 NGN is
located at 20B Blantyre Street Wuse 2, Abuja. The Director/Shareholders are (i) Rep
by Stephen Dike Advanced management & Technology Solutions Ltd. (ii) rep by Pius
Chukwuemeka Eze Hi tech LPUS (8) Services Lt. (iii) Limited Rep by Ken Nnamani MAREDEC (iv) Rep by Osimiri Jombo Ofo Afroequip (Nigeria) Ltd. (v) Rep by Igbekele Daodu King Konsult (vi) Ifeoma Aniekwe Ogochukwu (Secretary). The
company is flagged inactive. Integrated Advanced backbone Project Ltd does not have a website. - Netzone Engineering Ltd: A part of BINL, the website describes it as a leading
international infrastructure consultancy firm, that specializes in the design,
development and maintenance of critical infrastructure projects, including urban and
rural regeneration. The company is incorporated in the UK but has office address in UK and Nigeria. - Tunnelcraft Ltd: A part of BINL, it is a civil engineering company in England located at Business Park, Christy Cl, Basildon, United Kingdom. The company’s website describes Tunnelcraft as expert in labour supply for all tunneling methodologies. The website of Tunnelcraft presents it as a credible organization.
- NEFEX Holdings Limited of Canada: BINL claimed to have secured $50 billion
investment from NEFEX Holdings Limited of Canada. The company’s address is 27
Watts Meadow Aurora ON L4G 7L7 Canada. A simple search on google map returns
a residential building in a middleclass neighborhood. The team of NEFEX Holdings
Limited is made up of Eghbal Kord Jamshidi (President & CEO), Navid Zaheri
(Business Consultant), Farhad Salehi (Chief Operating Officer), and Mahdi
Jafarghloizade (Head of Trading). The company’s subsidiaries include Newton
Shipping Services Ltd, Galtrade Ltd. Galtrade Middle East DMCC, and NEFEX
Energy Group Ltd. In the Financial Highlights section of its website, NEFEX makes
claim to “Resilient Capital Base, Global Credit & Banking Network, and Operational
Efficiency. Interestingly, the link to these claims are not active. NEFEX claims that the
Nefex Energy Group Ltd. (BVI), along with its subsidiaries — Newton Shipping Services
Limited (Liberia), Galtrade Ltd. (BVI), and Galtrade Middle East DMCC (UAE) are not
3 currently, nor have they ever been, the subject of any sanctions or restrictive measures, including measures imposed by authorities in the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, or any other competent jurisdiction. One wonders why a whole web page is devoted to a disclaimer. NEFEX website can at best be described as a site undergoing development.
Even the $50 billion refinery project they signed on to is not reflected on the website. Eghbal Kord Jamshidi, the President and CEO of NEFEX is also a Director on Supreme
International Monetary and Credit Organization Limited, a company incorporated in the UK on 15 September 2025 with an initial share capital of £100. Incidentally, two other directors at NEFEX are also with Eghbal Kord Jamshidi on the board of Supreme International Monetary and Credit Organization Limited. Mahdi Jafarghloizade has no co presence online aside being a Director at NEFEX. No image of him elsewhere. A search for NEFEX Holdings Limited on Canada’s Business Registries returns NO RESULTS! - NEFEX Petroline: It is not listed as a subsidiary of NEFEX Holdings. A search for it on Canada’s Business Registries also returned zero results. BINL’s Vice President for Corporate Services, Wale Adekola, made reference to the partnership with NEFEX
Petroline, an engineering, construction, and energy infrastructure firm with operations
across North America, Europe, and the Middle East. - MJ Care Investment Finance: Google search does not return any result for a company with the name, MJ Care Investment Finance. The only mentions are in relation to the $50 billion refinery investment.
- China Harbour: Full name, China harbour Engineering Company is an engineering contractor and a subsidiary of China Communications Construction Company (CCCC). It is located at Plot 3140 Murtala Mohammed Way, Maitama, Abuja.
- Honeywell UOP, formerly known as UOP LLC or Universal Oil Products, is an
American multi-national company developing and delivering technology to the
petroleum refining, gas processing, petrochemical production. The main address for Honeywell UOP is in Des Plaines, Illinois. Key Inferences - BINL does not demonstrate any previous capacity for the kind of projects proposed for the JV. 4
23. NEFEX Holdings Limited seems to exist only on paper an on a website that is
undergoing development. The directors have no presence outside NEFEX. The office
address on the website is a residential building. - NEFEX Holdings Limited is not registered in Canada or anywhere.
- The only registered company that brings together three of the four directors of NEFEX Holdings is the Supreme International Monetary and Credit Organization Limited, incorporated in the UK on 15 September 2025 with an initial share capital of £100.
The Pertinent Questions
- What is the nature of the funding commitments from NEFEX Holdings Limited? Are they binding bank guarantees or just letters of intent? Which bank(s) guarantee(s) the project fund?
- Which engineering firm has signed up to the project. We are sure this would be a
prerequisite for funding application. - Where is the 1,473 hectares (14 square kilometres of land pledged by the state
government? - How much is Ondo State government committing into the project in counterpart funds?
Conclusion
- In conclusion, the purported $50 billion refinery investment which BINL claimed to
have secured from NEFEXF Holdings raises questions about authenticity, transparency, and feasibility. While such an investment could potentially transform the
industrial and economic landscape of Ondo State, the lack of verifiable financial
documentation, and the vague corporate background of NEFEX Holdings cast
significant doubt on the project’s credibility. The scale of the investment, which rivals
the combined worth of Nigeria’s existing refinery infrastructure, further heightens
skepticism about its plausibility. The Ondo State government cannot claim to have
overlooked due diligence for an investment of this magnitude, hence the need for them
to come out clean of what is already monumental heist in the making.
Barrister Mogbojuri Kayode (An Ondo state born lawyer)
