The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) has criticised the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), Bayo Ojulari, over what it described as his neglect of the ongoing rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery.
The development comes amid fresh legal action by two prominent northern groups, who have dragged NNPC’s Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Dapo Segun, before the Federal High Court in Kaduna. The suit alleges his “direct and supervisory role” in the failed rehabilitation of Nigeria’s refineries and the controversial acquisition of OVH Energy.
In a statement issued on Monday, PETROAN’s Zonal Chairman for System 2E (Eastern Zone), Sunny Nkpe, expressed alarm over the slow progress at the Old Port Harcourt Refinery (Area 5). The facility was shut down on May 24, 2025, for a 30-day scheduled maintenance, but work has reportedly been sluggish.
Nkpe, who visited the site last weekend for a fact-finding mission, said he was disturbed by the “very slow pace of activity” and lamented that the NNPC GCEO had yet to visit the refinery since assuming office.
According to Nkpe, the delay in completing the rehabilitation could further prolong Nigeria’s dependence on imported petroleum products, worsening fuel supply challenges and economic strain on consumers.
