Fix P\Harcourt Refinery or Resign, Marketers Warn Ojulari

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.

The Eastern Zonal Secretary of IPMAN, Comrade Emmanuel Inimgba, in a statement on Wednesday, following the continued shutdown of the refinery.

He expressed concerns over the delayed rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt Refinery, a project worth $1.5 billion, which he believes is being handled unprofessionally.

The refinery was shut down on May 24, 2025, for scheduled repairs of 30 days, but IPMAN said it’s now over 80 days without any significant activity.

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.

He stated 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Inimgba revealed that credible sources indicate contractors have withdrawn from the site due to lack of funds, and the NNPC GCEO has not visited the refinery in four months.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 stated that IPMAN has expressed support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s reform agenda.

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.”

Similarly, the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria had also reportedly 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 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 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.

Ojulari had stated that his new position isn’t a shift but informed by ongoing detailed technical and financial reviews of the Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Warri refineries.

He said 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, Ojulari said.

While progress is being made on all three, he said the emerging outlook calls for more advanced technical partnerships to complete and high-grade the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery, thus selling is highly unlikely as it would lead to further value erosion.