The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria has accused the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Bayo Ojulari, of neglecting the revival of the Port Harcourt refinery.

This came as two prominent northern groups dragged the Chief Financial Officer of NNPC, Mr Dapo Segun, before the Federal High Court in Kaduna over what they described as his “direct and supervisory role” in the failed rehabilitation of the nation’s refineries and the controversial acquisition of OVH Energy.

PETROAN’s Zonal Chairman for System 2E (Eastern Zone), Sunny Nkpe, said in a statement on Monday that he was alarmed at the slow pace of work at the Old Port Harcourt Refinery (Area 5), which was shut down on May 24, 2025, for a 30-day scheduled repair.

Nkpe said he visited the Port Harcourt Refinery rehabilitation site last weekend as part of his oversight for fact-finding and was worried to see “the slow pace of activity” at the site. Nkpe was said to have expressed concerns that Ojulari had yet to visit the facility since he assumed office as the GCEO.

“The current Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC, Bayo Ojulari, has not yet visited the Port Harcourt Refinery physically within four months in office, indicating a lack of passion for the functionality of the Port Harcourt refinery,” Nkpe was quoted in the statement.

He said contractors at the rehabilitation site complained of being owed for over 12 months. He recalled that repairs on the cracking and blending plants of Units 12 and 14 were almost complete when the new NNPC boss came on board.

“The contractors lamented that they are owed for over 12 months without funding. All was set for the Old Port Harcourt Refinery to commence production as the necessary repairs scheduled for the cracking and blending plant of Unit 12 and Unit 14 of the old refinery were almost completed before the new Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC gave no commitment and showed lack of interest, which signals support to give a competitive advantage to private refineries to gain monopoly and exploit Nigerians with outrageous prices for petroleum products,” Nkpe alleged.

The PETROAN zonal chairman said he would consult with other stakeholders in the midstream. The consultations, he said, would involve petroleum tanker drivers, independent marketers, oil and gas suppliers, and others. He claimed that thousands of tanker drivers, as well as marketers, were out of business because the refinery was shut down.

“Thousands of tanker drivers are out of jobs, including staff of PETROAN and IPMAN, and it is imperative that we agree on legitimate options to call for the revival of the Port Harcourt refinery,” he stressed.

He maintained that restarting the plant would “stabilise the price of petroleum products and reduce the dominance of private refineries,” noting that the facility was key to supplying petroleum products to Aba, Enugu, Makurdi, and other major cities. Nkpe urged the NNPC GCEO to give the Port Harcourt refinery “top priority attention.”

He also called on President Bola Tinubu to “direct immediate action to revive the Port Harcourt refinery,” warning that “such unnecessary delays look orchestrated and appear to be coming from vested interests who intend to sabotage the vision of Mr President.”

Recalling the impact of the seven months the refinery operated, Nkpe said, “Economic activities regained their boom, petty traders within the host communities celebrated, and jobs were also created. Above all, the prices of petroleum products were stable and on average, hence competition was at its peak.”

The retailer said he was “super excited” when Ojulari, a technocrat coming from Shell Oil Plc, was appointed NNPC GCEO. “However, I am shocked by his inability to show capacity in reviving the old Port Harcourt refinery, which was supposed to be fixed within 30 days since May 24, 2025,” he added.

On whether stakeholders would support calls for Ojulari’s sack for shutting down the distribution network, Nkpe replied, “I will wait for the holistic decision of stakeholders before further comments.”