Abakpa calls for Ojulari’s dismissal over NNPCL‑Chinese firms deal and refinery restart process.

Public affairs analyst and civil‑society advocate Edward Abakpa has called for the resignation of Bayo Ojulari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), citing the state‑owned firm’s recent Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Chinese companies.

He made the demand in a statement released on Tuesday.

According to DAILY POST, NNPCL and two Chinese firms signed an MoU to restart the Port Harbor and Warri refineries.

Several experts and public figures, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, have urged that the agreement be suspended, describing it as another venture that could waste public funds.

In response, an NNPCL spokesperson said the company will not use public money to implement the deal.

Abakpa criticised the ongoing lack of transparency surrounding spending on refinery rehabilitation and the new MoU with the Chinese firms.

He highlighted that the absence of a comprehensive public audit of previous refinery investments erodes confidence in new arrangements and raises doubts about policy continuity in the downstream petroleum sector.

“The central issue is accountability. Before entering fresh arrangements, Nigerians deserve a detailed explanation of how over $3.5 billion previously committed to refinery rehabilitation was utilized, what work was actually completed, and why the refineries remain largely non‑functional,” the statement said.

“It is unacceptable that after spending more than $3.5 billion on refinery rehabilitation over several phases, there is still no clear, commercially viable output from these facilities. Now we are being presented with another arrangement involving foreign partners without first resolving the accountability gap of the past,” he added.

“We cannot build new partnerships on a foundation of unresolved questions. Until Nigerians are told exactly what happened to the $3.5 billion already spent, every new deal will be viewed with suspicion,” he concluded.