The veil has been lifted on what may become one of Nigeria’s largest oil-sector scandals in recent history, as anti-graft officials uncover N80 billion in the personal account of a recently dismissed managing director of one of Nigeria’s state-owned refineries.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested top former executives of the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries amid a sweeping probe into the alleged mismanagement of over $3 billion earmarked for the rehabilitation of the country’s ailing refining infrastructure.
Among those arrested are Ibrahim Onoja of the Port Harcourt Refining Company and Efifia Chu of the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company. More arrests are expected in what insiders are calling a “deep rot” within the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
Despite a federal push to revive local refining, the results are abysmal. Port Harcourt refinery received $1.56 billion, Kaduna $740.6 million, and Warri $656.9 million. Yet, almost a year after their fanfare relaunch in late 2024, the refineries remain largely non-functional.
The Warri refinery, which gulped nearly $900 million, shut down weeks after restarting due to critical faults in its Crude Distillation Unit. Port Harcourt’s plant is barely operating at 40% capacity, contradicting earlier government claims of “near-full performance.”
“The commissioning was theatre,” said energy analyst Kelvin Emmanuel, accusing NNPCL of creating false hope. “These refineries don’t even have catalytic reformers. You can’t refine petrol without them.”
The crude pipeline feeding Warri from Escravos is reportedly inactive, further worsening the situation. Industry players say private depots in Lagos still supply most of Nigeria’s refined fuel.
A letter dated April 28, 2025, reveals that the EFCC has extended its investigation to include former NNPCL Group CEO Mele Kyari and 13 other executives. The anti-corruption agency has demanded a full breakdown of salaries, allowances, and benefits paid to the officials.
While the EFCC has declined public comment, the NNPCL’s spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye, has yet to issue any response.
The scandal has reignited long-standing grievances from refinery support staff, who have declared plans for an indefinite strike starting May 5. Workers say they have been underpaid and kept on casual contracts for over a decade, despite repeated promises of improved welfare once operations resumed.
Dafe Ighomitedo, leader of the support staff, said: “We’ve been treated like slaves since 2015. The refinery restarted, but our pay hasn’t changed. We’re shutting it down.”
Petroleum marketers and retailers are voicing their frustration. Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) official Harry Okenini said no product has left the Warri facility since January, forcing dealers to rely on costly private imports.
PETROAN President Billy Gillis-Harry admitted his earlier optimism about the refinery’s readiness was based on surface-level site inspections that did not reveal the underlying rot.
Once viewed as engines of national pride, Nigeria’s refineries have now become symbols of waste and corruption. Years of financial intervention—amounting to billions of dollars—have failed to yield results.
Experts warn that this latest scandal could rival or even eclipse previous high-profile corruption cases like the Central Bank’s “Emefielegate.”
With fuel prices surging and citizens grappling with daily economic hardship, public trust in Nigeria’s energy leadership has cratered. All eyes are now on the EFCC and the new NNPCL administration to deliver accountability—and finally fix a broken system.
