PETROAN slams NNPC GCEO Bayo Ojulari over Port Harcourt refinery delays, while northern groups sue CFO Dapo Segun over failed rehabilitation projects and OVH acquisition

The Port Harcourt refinery rehabilitation crisis is escalating as industry stakeholders and northern groups accuse top Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) executives of neglect, mismanagement, and selective accountability over multi-billion-dollar projects.

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The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), through its Eastern Zone Chairman Sunny Nkpe, criticised NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer Bayo Ojulari for allegedly ignoring the stalled rehabilitation of the Old Port Harcourt Refinery (Area 5), shut down on May 24, 2025, for a 30-day scheduled repair.

Nkpe, who visited the site last weekend, described the pace of work as “alarmingly slow” and claimed Ojulari had not visited the facility in his four months in office.

He alleged that contractors on site were owed over 12 months’ fees, stalling the completion of repairs on key cracking and blending units.

“The lack of urgency signals an advantage to private refineries, creating monopolies that exploit Nigerians with high petroleum prices,” Nkpe warned, urging President Bola Tinubu to intervene.

He stressed that thousands of tanker drivers and marketers remain out of work due to the shutdown and that restarting the plant would stabilise fuel prices in Aba, Enugu, Makurdi, and other cities.

Meanwhile, in Kaduna, two prominent northern groups the Arewa Community for Empowerment and Development and the Arewa Consultative Youth Movement have dragged NNPCL Chief Financial Officer Dapo Segun before the Federal High Court over his alleged “direct and supervisory role” in the failed rehabilitation of Nigeria’s refineries and the controversial 2022 acquisition of OVH Energy.

The plaintiffs accuse Segun, who previously served as Executive Vice President, Downstream, of overseeing multi-billion-dollar projects without delivering results that could end Nigeria’s dependence on fuel imports.

They are seeking a court order compelling the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate, arrest, and prosecute Segun, and to have him step aside as CFO during the probe.

“The EFCC cannot apply two sets of rules — one for northerners and another for others,” said Kabiru Yusuf, President of the Arewa Consultative Youth Movement, citing the arrest of former northern NNPC executives over similar projects.

The $1.5bn rehabilitation plan for the Port Harcourt refinery, announced in 2021, and similar contracts for the Warri and Kaduna refineries have yet to restore any facility to optimal production.

Nigeria continues to rely on imported petrol, diesel, and aviation fuel, despite NNPCL’s earlier monopoly in the sector.

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The NNPCL has not issued a statement on either PETROAN’s accusations or the court case, and efforts to reach the company through its listed contacts proved unsuccessful.