Port Harcourt/Kaduna – August 11, 2025 — The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) is under renewed public and legal scrutiny as the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) accused its Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, of neglecting 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, expressed alarm at what he described as the “slow pace of activity” at the Old Port Harcourt Refinery (Area 5), which was shut down on May 24, 2025, for a 30-day repair programme but remains idle more than two months later.
Nkpe, who visited the facility last weekend, alleged that contractors on site complained of being owed for over 12 months and that Ojulari had not physically visited the refinery since assuming office four months ago.
“The current GCEO has not shown passion for the functionality of the Port Harcourt refinery,” Nkpe said in a statement on Monday, warning that continued delays could hand private refineries a monopoly and push petroleum prices higher.
He said repairs to key cracking and blending units were nearly complete before Ojulari took over but have since stalled, leaving thousands of tanker drivers and marketers out of work. He urged President Bola Tinubu to “direct immediate action” to revive the refinery, calling the facility vital for stable fuel supply to cities such as Aba, Enugu, and Makurdi.
While PETROAN warned of economic and employment fallout, two northern groups the Arewa Community for Empowerment and Development and the Arewa Consultative Youth Movement escalated the controversy to the courts.
In a suit filed on Monday (FHC/KD/CS/101/2025), the groups accused CFO Dapo Segun of a “direct and supervisory role” in both the stalled rehabilitation of the nation’s refineries and NNPCL’s 2022 acquisition of OVH Energy. They alleged billions of dollars were committed under Segun’s oversight without delivering functional refineries, prolonging Nigeria’s reliance on fuel imports.
The plaintiffs are seeking an Order of Mandamus compelling the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate, arrest, and prosecute Segun, and an interim order requiring him to step aside while the probe is conducted.
“If the EFCC can arrest former northern executives over these same projects, then Dapo Segun must also face the law. We cannot have two sets of rules,” said Kabiru Yusuf, President of the Arewa Consultative Youth Movement.
The suit alleges that EFCC’s failure to investigate Segun violates its statutory duties and requests the court to mandate a “thorough and dispassionate investigation” within seven days of its order, with findings to be published within 14 days thereafter.
Nigeria’s three state-owned refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna have operated far below capacity for years despite multi-billion-dollar rehabilitation contracts announced since 2021. NNPCL’s acquisition of OVH Energy, hailed as a strategic move to expand its downstream footprint, has also faced questions over cost and transparency.
Efforts to obtain a response from NNPCL were unsuccessful, as the company has no official spokesperson and listed contact numbers were unreachable.
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