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NNPCL Boss Peddling Falsehoods About Port Harcourt Refinery’s Operations – Group Says

Published

1 month ago

September 1, 2025

John Onyema

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission for Nigeria (ICPC) has been urged to investigate and take action against Bayo Ojulari, Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), over allegations of economic sabotage and lying.

According to an open letter addressed to the ICPC Chairman on Monday, September 1, 2025, Ojulari allegedly ordered the shutdown of the Port Harcourt refinery despite it being profitable, with an average monthly net profit of over $20 million. The letter claims that Ojulari’s decision was motivated by plans to sell the refinery at scrap value to a company allied with him and to divert the refinery’s crude oil allocation for personal gain.

The group also addressed the open letter to President Bola Tinubu, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, and Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas regarding their recent concerns about the management of the state-owned refinery.

The letter further alleges that Ojulari has been peddling falsehoods about the refinery’s operations, initially claiming that it was shut down for maintenance and later stating that it was running at a monthly loss of N500 million.

An economic analysis of the refinery’s operations, attached to the letter, shows that the refinery was generating an average monthly net profit of $20 million under various scenarios. The analysis suggests that Ojulari’s claims of the refinery running at a loss are false and that the shutdown was a deliberate act of economic sabotage.

The signatories to the letter, including OilWatch Nigeria, Workers’ Rights Alliance, and Nigeria Concerned Citizens Watch, are calling for Ojulari’s immediate removal from office and an independent investigation into the refinery’s shutdown.

The letter reads in part:

On Thursday, 28th August 28, 2025, the embattled Group CEO of NNPC Limited, Bashir Ojulari told yet another lie in the ever-changing narrative of why he made the reckless decision of shutting down Port Harcourt refinery. From his initial lie that the refinery was shut down because it was due for maintenance, Ojulari is now peddling yet another falsehood that Port Harcourt refinery was shuttered because it was running at a monthly loss of N500million. This he stated during an interactive session with PENGASAN officials in Abuja, on Thursday, 28th August, 2025.

Whilst it is difficult to keep track of Ojulari’s ever-evolving position on Port Harcourt refinery, the fact remains that the refinery was running profitably and earning Nigeria an average monthly profit of over $20million before Ojulari made his Ill-advised decision to have the refinery shut down. This is from concrete evidence obtained from very senior NNPCL officials, who had advised Ojulari against his reckless decision. The truth of the matter is that Ojulari ordered the shutdown of the Port Harcourt refinery

because he had made plans to sell the refinery (at scrap value) to AYM Shafa Group, a company allied with both himself and Bashir Haske (son -in law to Atiku Abubakar, who was recently declared wanted by the EFCC). Secondly, Ojulari wanted the monthly crude oil allocation for Port Harcourt refinery to be diverted to his friends and cronies, for sale as spot cargoes for personal gain.

By shutting down a fully operational refinery, Ojulari has committed unforgivable economic sabotage against the government and people of Nigeria, and no amount of lying and double speak can change that fact. We call for an independent economic analysis of the refinery’s operations, prior to its unceremonious closure by Ojulari. Even the most uneducated eye can spot Ojulari’s lie once they look at the economic analysis provided below.

This refinery was running smoothly and making over $20million monthly for Nigerians. It was not running at a loss as falsely claimed by Ojulari.
Please see high-level economic analysis for the refinery, below:

Economic Analysis of Port Harcourt Refinery Operations.
A detailed economic analysis of the operation of Port Harcourt refinery has been conducted under five (5) scenarios. Based on an average prevailing crude oil price of $66.28/barrel, Crack C5+ price of $635/ton, refinery operating expenditure (OPEX) of $7/barrel, and prices of petroleum products, namely, LPG at $486/ton, AGO at $711.1/ton, Kerosene at $733/ton, Naphtha at $553.3/ton, PMS at $725/ton and LPFO at $554.6/ton, as provided by PHRC, the following results have emerged; showing that the refinery was generating an average monthly NET profit of US$20million in the worse-case scenario.

Model

Gross Profit Per Month ($ Million/Month) Gross Profit Per Barrel ($/Barrel) Net Profit Per Month ($ Million/Month) Net Profit per Barrel ($/Barrel

Model

1 31,510 19.45 20.170 12.45

Model

2 46.51 28.67 35.11 21.67

Model

3 40.606 25.07 29.266 18.07

Model

4 32.539 20.09 21.199 13.09

Model

5 47.481 29.31 36.141 22.31

Model 1 : Only Unit 10 (CDU) is running, the LPG is flared, and Naphtha is sold as an unfinished product. This is the configuration the refinery was operating before it was shut down on 24 th May 2025. Under this model, the refinery was generating an average monthly NET profit of US$ 20million.

Model 2 : Only Unit 10 (CDU) is running, the LPG is flared, and Naphtha is blended with Crack C5+ to produce PMS.

Model 3 : Both Unit 10 (CDU) and Unit 12 (CRU) are running, while Unit 14 (LPG recovery) is not operational. The LPG is flared.

Model 4: Both Unit 10 (CDU) and Unit 14 (LPG recovery) are running. LPG is recovered and Naphtha is sold as an unfinished product.

Model 5 : Both Unit 10 (CDU) and Unit 14 (LPG recovery) are running. LPG is recovered and Naphtha is blended with Crack C5+ to produce PMS. With Unit 14 now confirmed ready for commissioning, this configuration can be achieved as soon as the refinery resumes operation, with the possibility of generating an average monthly NET profit of US$ 35million.

We call for an independent economic analysis of the refinery’s operations, prior to its unceremonious shutdown by Ojulari. Even the most uneducated eye can spot Ojulari’s lie once they look at the economic analysis we have provided. This refinery was making over N20billion monthly and not losing money as falsely asserted by Ojulari.

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Tin City Warms Up for President Tinubu as North Central Embraces Renewed Hope

Published

1 day ago

October 4, 2025

The Gleamer

By Sunday Dare

When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu berths on the plains and rolling hills that dominate the Jos landscape tomorrow, he will meet a people resourceful, friendly and resilient but weighed down by conflict, yet unbowed by adversity.

So, tommorrow, national attention turns to the Plateau- a locale laden with history and rich with potential. From the tin mines that gave the city of Jos its name, to the Irish potato, strawberry farms and beetroot plantations that dot its landscape, Jos remains a land of promise—truly the Home of Peace and Tourism.

Jos is also deeply woven into Nigeria’s political history. Plateau is home to towering figures such as Generals JD Gomwalk, Yakubu Gowon, John Shagaya, Joshua Dogoyaro, and Jerry Useni. Solomon Lar, Senator Ibrahim Mantu and numerous others also stand tall in the annals Plateau political history.

Jos was also the rallying ground of the famed Langtang Mafia—a group of influential military officers from Langtang in Plateau State who, at the height of their power, played a significant role in Nigeria’s political and military affairs.

The story of Jos is both exciting and excruciating. The city lost its innocence some two and a half decades ago, when the popular Terminus Market was reduced to rubble through acts of arson and looting.

Thus at the turn of the millennium by 2001, Jos—and by extension, Plateau—was thrown into a cycle of unending conflict. Ethnic tensions, clothed in religious garb, tore through the city and spread across the state, dragging Jos into an abyss of violence, almost of Kigali proportions. Peace gave way to war, and tourism jaunts became undertakings to the undertaker.

Yet Jos has never surrendered. Every time it is written off, it rises again—scarred, but resilient. With its multi-ethnic, multi-religious fabric, the Plateau continues to trudge on in pursuit of peace, development, and egalitarian ideals.

It was here, in Jos, that Nigeria’s democratic resurgence was birthed. The historic SDP convention, where late General Shehu Yar’Adua and Chief Moshood Abiola held sway, took place in this city. Jos gave political life to Abiola, our hero of democracy in 1992

Now, thirty three years later, another hero of democracy and of the June 12 struggle returns to the Plateau. President Tinubu’s return and visit to Plateau State is not just to honor the transition to glory of Nana Lydia Yilwatda, the mother of the APC National Chairman.

It is a visit that carries deeper meaning—one of empathy, solidarity, and renewed hope for a people who have endured decades of turmoil. It is a mission to preach peace, console the bereaved, bind wounds, and assure Plateau of its central place in the Nigerian project.

Mr President comes not just to mourn, but to reconnect. He comes to parley with the North Central, to commiserate with a people who have suffered, and to extend the hand of renewed hope. That Renewed Hope is laying a solid foundation as evidenced by Naira at N1,455 per dollar, rising Foreign Reserves at $43bn, Trade surplus heading for N25tr. Revenues up 411% and Inflation down to about 20 per cent. Over 600,000 students benefiting from NELFUND.

This visit is more than ceremonial. It is a journey into the very soul of a people who have known pain, yet remain resilient; a land scarred by conflict, yet still brimming with hope and promise. As the Tin City opens its arms, Jos will not just receive the President—it will receive a message of solidarity, healing, and renewal.

Tomorrow is about remembering the glorious past, confronting the present, and charting a path to a peaceful and prosperous Plateau within a united Nigeria. With President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, Jos once again stands at the intersection of history and destiny.

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