Petroleum marketers in Eleme, Rivers State, have criticised the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Bayo Ojulari, for failing to visit the Port Harcourt refinery during his recent trip to the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas facility in Bonny.
The Host Communities Bulk Retailers Association of the Port Harcourt Refinery said in a statement on Tuesday that Ojulari’s decision was “shocking and disappointing,” describing it as a slight to refinery workers and management.
According to the marketers, while the NLNG plant is an important national asset, the Port Harcourt refinery remains a critical component of Nigeria’s refining capacity and deserves equal attention.
“A courtesy visit would have boosted the morale of the rehabilitation team and signalled Ojulari’s commitment to restoring the refinery,” the group stated, warning that his failure to do so suggested “a lack of interest in the functionality of the plant.”
They urged the NNPC boss to review his itinerary and personally engage with the refinery’s operations and challenges.
Similarly, the Eastern Zonal Secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Emmanuel Inimgba, faulted Ojulari’s handling of the refinery’s ongoing repairs. He noted that the plant, which was shut down on May 24, 2025, for a 30-day maintenance exercise, has now been idle for over 80 days without progress.
Inimgba alleged that contractors had withdrawn from the project due to funding gaps and that the GCEO had not visited the facility in the past four months. He warned that the prolonged shutdown had led to job losses among tanker drivers, marketers, and host community members.
“Fixing the refinery would create jobs, strengthen local economies, improve fuel supply and government revenue, and enhance energy security,” he said. He further cautioned that if Ojulari failed to demonstrate seriousness, stakeholders might call on President Bola Tinubu to consider replacing him.
Efforts to obtain NNPC’s reaction were unsuccessful as the company has not appointed a new spokesperson since Olufemi Soneye’s resignation in June. Emails and social media enquiries sent by our correspondent went unanswered.
Although the NNPC recently reaffirmed its commitment to completing the “high-grade rehabilitation” of the Port Harcourt refinery, reports indicate that some staff at the Warri refinery have not been paid for four months. Attempts to get comments from the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers President, Williams Akporeha, were also unsuccessful.
