Oil marketers under the aegis of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) have asked the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Bayo Ojulari, to either fix the Port Harcourt Refinery immediately or resign from his position.
This was made known in a statement signed by the Eastern Zonal Secretary of IPMAN, Comrade Emmanuel Inimgba, following the continued shutdown of the refinery.
Inimgba expressed concerns over the delayed rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt Refinery, a project worth $1.5 billion, which he believes is being handled unprofessionally.
According to the statement, the refinery was shut down on May 24, 2025, for scheduled repairs of 30 days, but it’s now over 80 days without any significant activity or commitment under the administration of the new GCEO of NNPCL.
Inimgba noted that the refinery’s shutdown has resulted in thousands of job losses, affecting tanker drivers, NUPENG members, PETROAN staff, IPMAN workers, and host community members.
Contractors have stopped work
He pointed out that fixing the refinery would create jobs, boost the local economy, improve fuel supply and distribution, increase government revenue, enhance energy security, and improve living standards for host community members.
Inimgba stated that credible sources indicate contractors have withdrawn from the site due to lack of funds, and the NNPC GCEO has not visited the refinery in four months.
He said that IPMAN has expressed support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s reform agenda and will not allow the GCEO’s actions to sabotage the president’s efforts.
He added, ‘’If the GCEO is unable to fix the Port Harcourt Refinery or demonstrate commitment to its rehabilitation, stakeholders and host communities will have no option but to call on President Tinubu to consider replacing him.’’
More accusations
In a related development, the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria had also, in a report, accused the NNPC GCEO, Bayo Ojulari, of neglecting the revival of the Port Harcourt refinery.
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.
What you should know
Recall that earlier in May 2025, the Port Harcourt Refining was shut down for maintenance for a period of 30 days.
It was reported that the NNPC halted operations to allow for checks on the equipment, with initial fears of a negative effect on petrol supply.
The stoppage of operations came six months after the November 26, 2024, completion of its $1.5 billion rehabilitation.
Meanwhile, the NNPC GCEO, Bayo Ojulari, had, about two weeks ago, at a company-wide town hall meeting, officially ruled out the sale of the Port Harcourt Refining Company, reaffirming its commitment to completing high-grade rehabilitation and retention of the plant.
This appears to be a different stance from an earlier suggestion by top officials of the state-owned energy giant that non-performing refineries like those in Warri, Port Harcourt, and Kaduna may be sold.
Ojulari stated that the position isn’t a shift, but rather informed by ongoing detailed technical and financial reviews of the Port Harcourt, Kaduna, and Warri refineries.
Ojulari said that the ongoing review indicates that the earlier decision to operate the Port Harcourt refinery prior to full completion of its rehabilitation was ill-informed and sub-commercial
