The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) has accused the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Bayo Ojulari, of showing “no passion” for the revival of the Port Harcourt Refinery, while two northern groups have dragged the company’s Chief Financial Officer, Dapo Segun, before the Federal High Court in Kaduna over alleged failures in refinery rehabilitation and the controversial OVH Energy acquisition.
PETROAN’s Zonal Chairman for System 2E (Eastern Zone), Sunny Nkpe, in a Monday statement, expressed alarm over the “slow pace of work” at the Old Port Harcourt Refinery (Area 5), which was shut on May 24, 2025, for a scheduled 30-day repair.
Nkpe, who visited the rehabilitation site last weekend, said he was “worried to see minimal activity” and noted that Ojulari had yet to visit the facility since assuming office four months ago.
The GCEO has not physically visited the Port Harcourt Refinery within four months in office, indicating a lack of passion for making it functional,” Nkpe said.
He alleged that contractors had been left unpaid for over 12 months, stalling the near-completion of crucial repairs on the cracking and blending units of the refinery. According to him, the delay appeared to give private refineries “a monopoly advantage to exploit Nigerians with high prices.”
Nkpe warned that the prolonged shutdown had thrown thousands of tanker drivers, marketers, and refinery-linked workers out of jobs. He said restarting the plant would stabilise petroleum prices, reduce dependence on private operators, and restore supplies to Aba, Enugu, Makurdi, and other cities.
The PETROAN official urged Ojulari to prioritise the refinery’s revival and called on President Bola Tinubu to order immediate action, warning against “orchestrated delays by vested interests.”
He recalled that the seven months the plant operated before its closure boosted local economies, created jobs, and kept fuel prices stable.
Meanwhile, two northern groups — the Arewa Community for Empowerment and Development and the Arewa Consultative Youth Movement — have sued NNPCL CFO Dapo Segun, accusing him of a “direct and supervisory role” in the failed rehabilitation of the nation’s refineries and the OVH Energy deal.
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In their suit (FHC/KD/CS/101/2025), the plaintiffs are seeking an Order of Mandamus compelling the EFCC to probe, arrest, and prosecute Segun, and to force him to step aside while the investigation proceeds. They allege billions of dollars were committed to projects under Segun’s watch without results that could end Nigeria’s dependence on imported petroleum products.
“If the EFCC can arrest former northern NNPC management staff over these same projects, then Segun, who presided over them, must also face the law,” said Kabiru Yusuf, President of the Arewa Consultative Youth Movement.
The groups accused the Tinubu administration, the EFCC, and the DSS of shielding Segun from accountability, describing it as “selective justice.”
Nigeria’s three state-owned refineries — in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna — have operated far below capacity for years. Despite a $1.5bn rehabilitation plan announced for Port Harcourt in 2021 and other multi-million-dollar contracts for Warri and Kaduna, none has returned to optimal production, leaving the country reliant on fuel imports.
The 2022 acquisition of OVH Energy by NNPCL, touted as a move to strengthen downstream operations, is now under scrutiny in the lawsuit.
Efforts to reach NNPCL for comment were unsuccessful as the firm currently has no spokesperson and the listed contact numbers were unreachable.