The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) has criticised Bayo Ojulari, the group chief executive officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, over his comments about the Port Harcourt refinery.
PETROAN asked the NNPC executive not to use the failure of
the state-owned asset as a basis for praising the Dangote refinery.
Earlier today, Ojulari asked Nigerians to thank God for the
Dangote refinery, saying it provided a “breathing space” when state-owned
refineries were shut down.
“So we said, what’s the hurry? We have a refinery that is
working. It’s not owned by NNPC, but it’s built in Nigeria, working in
Nigeria,” Ojulari had said.
He also said the Port Harcourt plant was incurring
monumental losses, which led to the facility’s closure.
In a statement on Wednesday, Joseph Obele, the national
public relations officer (PRO), PETROAN, faulted Ojulari’s stance that
Nigerians should be “thankful” solely because of the success of the Dangote
refinery.
Acknowledging the strategic importance and commendable
achievement of the privately owned refinery, he said private investment cannot
replace the constitutional and economic obligation of the government to
efficiently manage public assets.
“Dangote Refinery is a private investment driven by profit
and efficiency. NNPC, on the other hand, holds national assets in trust for
Nigerians. One cannot be used as an excuse for the failure of the other,” Obele
said.
He warned that repeated public admissions of incompetence by
NNPC leadership could erode investor confidence, weaken Nigeria’s energy
security framework, and undermine years of policy efforts aimed at domestic
refining, price stability, and job creation.
Obele called on the NNPC GCEO to understand that his
appointment was to solve problems, “not to retreat behind the success of a
private refinery”.
He described as “most worrisome” the assertion that there is
no urgency to restart the Port Harcourt Refinery because Dangote is currently
meeting Nigeria’s fuel needs.
“Such a statement is annoying, unacceptable, and indicative
of leadership that is not solution-centric,” Obele said.
The PETROAN PRO said Nigeria cannot continue to normalise
waste, institutional failure, and retrospective justification of poor
decisions.
He stressed that admitting failure is only meaningful when
followed by accountability, reforms, and a clear, credible plan to prevent
recurrence.
Obele further said he will lobby civil society groups and relevant stakeholders to explore legal options “to demand the removal of the NNPC GCEO should the Port Harcourt Refinery fail to resume operations on or before 1 March 2026”.
He warned that after the huge sums already spent on
rehabilitation, continued shutdown could cause rust, corrosion, and equipment
failure — ultimately rendering the entire revamp effort futile without urgent
action.
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