One year after the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited declared the resumption of the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, both facilities are currently shut down, fuelling intense public backlash and scrutiny.
Despite multi-billion-dollar investments and celebratory commissioning ceremonies held in late 2024, the state-owned refineries have largely failed to sustain operations.
Pinnacle Daily recalls that the then NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, had on November 26, 2024, announced the resumption of operations at the 60,000-barrel-per-day Port Harcourt refinery after the federal government had spent $1.5 billion on the rehabilitation of the facility.
Subsequently, Kyari also announced the reopening of the 125,000 barrels per day Warri Refinery on December 30 2024. At the time of the resumption, the NNPC management said it was operating at 60 per cent of its installed capacity, producing naphtha, fuel oil, and Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), also known as diesel.
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However, they were shut down a few months after the resumption of operations.
The NNPC had while announcing the shutdown of the Port Harcourt refinery in May 2025, said it was to embark on scheduled maintenance but failed to provide a clear timeline for when the refinery would resume operations.
Also, a document reportedly released by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) revealed that the Warri Refinery was shut down in January 2025, just weeks after the NNPC announced its “full operation” following an $897 million rehabilitation effort.
The NMDPRA document cited safety issues with the Crude Distillation Unit as the reason for the shutdown.
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The NNPC had claimed that the rehabilitation of the Warri Refinery was a landmark achievement aimed at boosting domestic refining capacity and reducing Nigeria’s reliance on imported fuel.
While in operation, none of the refineries was said to have produced Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol.
One year later, the refineries have remained moribund, with no petrol being produced, as Nigeria continues to rely on imports and the private Dangote Refinery for its fuel needs.
Critics and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have argued that the announcement of the resumption of the refineries was merely political optics, as the plants broke down within weeks of starting.
In a major shake-up in April 2025, President Bola Tinubu removed Mele Kyari as GCEO, replacing him with Bayo Ojulari. This move was seen as a “reset” to restore public trust in the NNPC.
Eight months after the removal of Kyari from office and the dissolution of the NNPC board, the federal government has been criticised for failing to prosecute the Ex-GCEO over alleged mismanagement of funds earmarked for turnaround maintenance and other financial irregularities.
As the Kaduna refinery has also remained dormant, about $4 billion is said to have been spent by the federal government on the rehabilitation of the three refineries during Kyari’s tenure.
Economist and energy expert Mr Kelvin Emmanuel queried why the federal government has failed to arrest and prosecute anyone eight months after the former NNPC management and board were sacked.
“$3bn gone, and the EFCC is quiet 8 months after the former management and board were sacked—no one has been charged to court and arraigned,” Mr Emmanuel stated via his X handle.
He said the $3 billion was borrowed by NNPC through a forward sale agreement in 2021. According to him, Afreximbank provided $1 billion of the $3 billion in exchange for crude oil repayments that were given to a trader to sell and then remit to the syndicate lender. “That money would have gone to a consolidated revenue fund for the federation to finance the budget, but it was wasted for nothing,” Emmanuel added.
He called on anti-graft agencies, such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to step in and investigate the activities of the former NNPC management.
Emmanuel, who had expressed doubt that the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries were capable of producing petrol at the time NNPC declared resumption of operations, said he was serially called out by those who felt he was making unfounded allegations. However, events after 12 months have, according to him, corroborated his claims.
The expert, who is also a public affairs commentator and CEO of Dairy Hills, regretted that the funds used for the turnaround maintenance were borrowed with Nigeria’s crude as collateral.
“The most painful part is that the money used for this turnaround maintenance was borrowed with Nigeria’s crude as collateral.”
A Financial analyst, Kalu Aja, berated those who lied to the Federal government that the Port Harcourt refinery has recovered.
After Kyari’s removal from office, various groups, including the Coalition of Niger Delta Youths and the Situation Room on Transparency and Accountability, had demanded a full investigation and possible criminal trial. They argued that simply removing Kyari is insufficient given the scale of the alleged financial mismanagement.
Earlier, before Kyari’s sack, the group had staged peaceful protests, including at the National Assembly, carrying placards and demanding his removal and a probe into the NNPCL’s activities.
Legal and Investigative Action
In September 2025, Mele Kyari was reportedly invited and grilled by the EFCC regarding financial irregularities. Some reports at the time indicated that a Federal High Court ordered the freezing of accounts linked to the former NNPC boss pending the outcome of investigations.
In July 2025, the House of Representatives said it had launched a “full-blown” investigation into the $1.5 billion spent specifically on the Port Harcourt refinery to determine if the public was “deceived”.
However, Kyari has consistently maintained his innocence, stating in interviews that the challenges were technical and structural, stemming from decades of neglect.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist, scholar and analyst of socioeconomic issues in Nigeria and Africa. He is skilled in energy reporting, business and economy, and holds a master's degree in mass communication.
