Petroleum Retailers Accuse Ojulari of Sabotaging Port Harcourt Refinery

The Hoscom Bulk Petroleum Retailers of Port Harcourt Refinery have accused the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Bayo Ojulari of deliberately undermining state-owned refineries to favour private operators.
The Hoscom accusation came as the NNPCL GCEO revealed that the company has been losing between N300 million and N500 million monthly on the Port Harcourt refinery.
Ojulari made the disclosure in Abuja during a courtesy visit by the leadership of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), led by its president, Festus Osifo.
He explained that rehabilitating the refinery had proved difficult due to years of neglect.
“When you fix one thing, the other breaks down,” Ojulari said. “When I assumed office, I made the refineries a top priority. But I discovered we were pumping about 950,000 barrels into the Port Harcourt refinery, yet less than 40 percent was coming out. Only half of the plant was working, producing mid-grade products.”
Ojulari clarified that contrary to public belief, the “old” and “new” refineries in Port Harcourt are not separate facilities but were designed to function together, with one feeding the other for proper output.
However, his comments have sparked backlash from the Hoscom Bulk Petroleum Retailers of Port Harcourt Refinery, who accused him of deliberately undermining state-owned facilities to favor private operators.
In a statement signed by its Board of Trustees members led by High Chief Sunny Nkpe, the group alleged that Ojulari’s justification for halting operations confirmed “longstanding suspicions” of sabotage.
“The billions of dollars spent on rehabilitating the Port Harcourt refinery have gone to waste because the facility was deliberately grounded instead of being allowed to operate during review,” the statement read.
The statement was also signed by Comrade Emmanuel Inimgba, the BOT Secretary of Hoscom; Dr. Joseph Obele, the Administrative Secretary of the organization, Pastor Tekena Ikpaiki, the Administrative Chairman, Hon. Dickson Obelley, Comrade Oluka Ochen and Chief Zephanaiah Sample, BOT members.
Hoscom insisted that government-owned refineries are vital as price stabilizers in the downstream sector. By shutting them down, the group argued, NNPCL has ceded pricing power to private refineries, exposing Nigerians to exploitation.
The group also criticized NNPCL’s reliance on its minority stake in the Dangote Refinery, which it described as “an embarrassment.” It noted that NNPCL’s holding had dropped from the initially agreed 20 percent to 7.2 percent due to non-payment of the balance.
“NNPCL should be ashamed to boast of an equity stake in a private refinery while abandoning its own assets,” Hoscom said.
The group urged President Bola Tinubu to intervene and revive all four state-owned refineries, stressing that a functional refining sector would stabilize prices, create jobs, and strengthen Nigeria’s energy security.
Hoscom also declared support for PENGASSAN’s call for a comprehensive overhaul of the refineries, warning that continued dependence on private operators would erode public interest.