The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has removed the directors of the three-Warri-Warri-Warri-Warri refineries, Port Harcourt, and the whole country who is angry with the failure of a multi-billion naira refinery rehabilitation program.
The development, confirmed by many officials within the NNPCL, also included the removal of leading executives such as Bala Wunti, former leader of Nigeria Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), a critical subsidiary that oversees oil flow investments. In what appears to be a sweeping purge, staff with less than one year left before retiring are also asked to leave.
Overhaul, described by the insider as a desperate attempt by the new management to cleanse the company's image, came Sunday after it appeared that the Warri's refinery, which seems to have been fixed for $ 897.6 million, has never continued operations as claimed to the public. Instead, the plant was that -shut down almost a month after a television ceremony declared it was 'fully functioning'.
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The news has ignored a storm of criticism across the country, with energy experts, civic groups, and ordinary Nigerians condemned what is seen today as one of the most courageous stages of official deception in the country oil industry.
Kelvin Emmanuel, a respected energy analyst, has long been asking for the authenticity of the Revamp Revamp Revamps.
“Warri, Port Harcourt, and Kaduna refineries have never returned to operations,” he said. “The whole commission shown to the Nigerians on television is a charade.”
He, in 2024, described the program no more than a “operation blend” designed to give the illusion of activity while masking deeper operational failures.
His words are now seen as prophetic.
An internal status report from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) confirms that Warri's refinery was closed on January 25, 2025, citing “safety concerns in the main unit of the distillation unit (CDU).” The report does not mention any fuel output or related products, which contradicts the Nigerian government's claims that the plant reaches 60 percent capacity.
The revelation has been angry with many Nigerians, especially with ongoing fuel deficiencies, high bomb prices, and a government that has repeatedly defended the removal of fuel subsidies on the grounds of promoting domestic refining.
Tinubu's celebration is now a source of shame
The collapse was particularly awkward for President Ball Tinubu, with the administration celebrating Warri's refinery repair in December 2024 with a huge adventure.
In a statement broadcasting throughout the national television, Tinubu declared:
“Warri's Refinery Refinery today brings joy and joy to me and the Nigerians. It will further strengthen the hope and confidence of the Nigerians for a bigger and better future we have promised. This development is an amazing -wonderful way to end the year following the recording recorded earlier Port Harcurt Refinery.”
He continued:
“I am equally happy that the NNPC Limited is implementing my directive to restore all four refineries in good working conditions. I congratulate Mele Kyari and her NNPCL team for trying to restore our national pride and make Nigeria hub for Crude oil oil in Africa.”
At this time, the president claimed that the Warri's facility operates at 60 percent capacity and has tied the supposed change to its broader energy security goal. His social media supporters and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) are grateful for the moment as proof of his reform credentials. But in new revelations that refinery has never continued to work, and in fact, closed within a few weeks, critics are now accusing the administration of the presentation of a national deception.
Experts warn Kaduna Refinery is another illusion
Kelvin Emmanuel warned that unless deep structural issues were addressed, including the accumulation of the Nigeria pipeline network, the idea of reviving the Refinery of Kaduna was an equal idea.
“Without the 674km pipeline that connects Escravos to Kaduna, you can kiss two CDUs – one for heavy crude and the other for lightweight crude – Goodbye,” he said. “Any claim that you want to restore Kaduna's refinery by barging, which costs three to five times than regular piping, is a complete concept.”
He also renewed calls for an entire forensic audit of NNPC Trading (former Duke Oil) and Nigeria Upstream Investment Management Services (NUIMS, Dating Napims), which is focusing on racketeering involving inflated invoices and the essential economic costs.
“The PXF invoice and field development racket validation are known to the insider,” Emmanuel said, urging anti-corruption agencies to enter.
Port Harcourt Refinery also under thorough investigation
Port Harcourt Refinery was also said to have continued slight operation last year, now reportedly working less than capacity, with no commercial output reaching the market. Industry insiders claim its operations are limited to internal trials and mechanical running, not actually refining petrol products for the public.
Resources at NNPCL say the company has scrambled to manage the collapse, especially as international investors and bilateral partners begin to question the credentials of state-sponsored oil projects.
The new management is faced with upward battle
Refinery bosses attack is the first major action under the new CEO of the NNPCL Group Bayo Ojulari, which was nominated earlier this month following the removal of Mele Kyar. Ojulari, a technological oil industry, is better known as the leading $ 2.4 billion acquisition of shell's onshore assets through Renaissance Africa Energy.
Together with NNPCL Board chairman Musa Ahmaduws, the Ojulari is expected to implement a rotation plan aimed at rescue what remains public in the national oil firm. But the road ahead is steep. In addition to technical challenges, the new team should count interest -interested, fuzzy contracting systems, and political interference.
The presidential resources that spoke to the blow said the sack of the Karot and those affected by this time came from the remembrance of performance and a failure to meet the main labor targets.
They said the shaking was a performance-based reshuffle, focusing that those who had previously managed “would go to circles” and some of them had “been part of the problem, rather than a solution.”
The wider context makes the situation worse. Since 2015, Nigeria has spent more than $ 2.7 billion for maintaining the maintenance and rehabilitation of its four refineries – all without producing refined products. Failure to restore domestic refinement capacity left African oil's largest oil manufacturer that almost entirely dependent on imported gasoline, enhances forex pressures, pump prices, and drops the subsidies.
