Respected group, Southern Youth Foundation of Nigeria, SYF, has joined voices with the coalition of Nigeria’s political parties and civil society organisations to applaud the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mr. Bayo Ojulari, for revealing the deep-seated corruption and operational decay at the nation’s refineries, especially the Port Harcourt facility.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by the group’s National President, Amb Comrade Comrade Emeni Ibe, the SYF also demanded full-scale judicial inquiry into the NNPCL’s activities under its former leadership.
Amb. Comrade Emeni Ibe said, “The meeting between the NNPCL Boss, Mr. Bayo Ojulari, and the leadership of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) on Thursday, 29th August, 2025, was an eye opener for everyone”.
“The NNPCL boss painted a clearer picture of financial hemorrhage, stating that the company was losing between ₦300 million to ₦500 million monthly across its refineries. He revealed that the Port Harcourt refinery was a major drain, consuming vast resources without commensurate revenue. He opened up that despite pumping approximately 950,000 barrels of crude into the facility, less than 40 percent of the inputs were being processed. The inefficiency resulted in Nigeria receiving “mid-grade, substandard products because only half of the refinery was functional.”
“The NNPCL Boss also dismantled a long-held myth about the refinery’s structure, stressing that what were often called the “old and new” refineries were, in fact, interconnected systems designed to operate as a single unit. And according to the GCEO, years of “willful neglect and deceit” had made any attempt at rehabilitation exceptionally difficult.”
“The Southern Youth Foundation of Nigeria therefore, calls for forensic investigation and an independent judicial inquiry into the operations of the NNPCL until the time Mr. Bayo Ojulari took over. The probe should be public, transparent, and aimed at recovering every Kobo of the stolen commonwealth of Nigerians.”
“We hereby state that Mr. Bayo Ojulari’s revelations must be matched by decisive government actions from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in order to ensure that the NNPCL ceases to be a cesspool of corruption and instead becomes a true national asset for the benefit of all Nigerians.”
“The Southern Youth Foundation of Nigeria once again state our belief in the capacity and ability of Mr. Ojulari to steer the ship of NNPCL. We strongly support his alignment with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda as it concerns national assets and revamping of the economy.