The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) and the Coalition of National Civil Society Organisations (CNCSOs) have called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to initiate a full scale judicial inquiry into the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, following explosive disclosures by its Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Bayo Ojulari.
Ojulari, during a meeting with the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, on August 29, was said to have revealed alarming levels of corruption and operational dysfunction within the country’s refinery system particularly the Port Harcourt Refinery.
According to the two groups in a statement made available to journalists on Monday, Ojulari, they said, disclosed that the NNPCL has been losing between N300 million and N500 million monthly at its refineries, with only about 40% of crude oil processed despite the injection of nearly 950,000 barrels.
Jointly signed by the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of CNPP, James Ezema, and the National Secretary of CNCSOs, Alhaji Ali Abacha, the groups noted that, they beckoned at the nation’s president to as a matter of urgency address the alleged rot in the oil sector.
“Contrary to previous claims, Ojulari explained that the Port Harcourt Refinery’s “old” and “new” systems were never meant to operate separately, but rather as a single integrated unit. Years of deliberate misrepresentation and neglect, he said, have sabotaged the system and undermined rehabilitation efforts”, the group quoted Ojulari.
While hailing Ojulari’s transparency and described his revelations as confirmation of their long-standing concerns about systemic corruption within NNPCL under former leadership, particularly Engr. Mele Kyari, the groups accused the previous administration of orchestrating a campaign of sabotage aimed at crippling domestic refining capacity to sustain fraudulent fuel importation rackets.
“Efforts to expose these schemes were repeatedly met with media suppression and intimidation. They also reiterated past criticism of what they termed “absurd” profit declarations made under Kyari, which they argued were contradicted by ballooning subsidy claims”, the group lamented.
The groups stated that Nigeria’s worsening economic crisis is directly tied to entrenched corruption within NNPCL and warned that without a complete cleanup, the country would remain trapped in hardship and economic stagnation.
Calling for immediate action,duo demanded a public and transparent judicial probe into NNPCL’s activities between 2017 and 2023. They argued that the scale of alleged corruption was beyond the investigative capacity of conventional anti-graft agencies like the EFCC.
The coalition also called for the arrest and prosecution of Mele Kyari, citing unresolved allegations including fraudulent subsidy payments, dubious crude swap deals, and unaccounted crude oil revenue.
They warned that any failure to act decisively would be seen as a tacit endorsement of impunity by the current administration.
Commending Ojulari for his courage and integrity, describing his revelations as a potential turning point in Nigeria’s battle against oil sector corruption, they urged President Tinubu to respond with equal resolve to restore accountability and reclaim the NNPCL as a true national asset.