Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested the recently sacked managing directors and some top officials of the Port Harcourt Refining Company, Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company, and Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company.
The officials were arrested over alleged mismanagement of funds earmarked for the rehabilitation of the facilities. The total amount under investigation is $2,956,872,622.36.
Reports coming in showed that the EFCC is probing the sum of $1,559,239,084.36 allocated to the Port Harcourt refinery, $740,669,600 released for the Kaduna refinery, and $656,963,938 approved for the Warri refinery.
Former Managing Director of Port Harcourt Refining Company Ltd is Mr. Ibrahim Onoja, while Efifia Chu served as the former Managing Director of the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company Ltd.
This came as impeccable top management sources at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) revealed that N80bn was allegedly found in the account of one of the sacked MDs.
Operators and experts in the sector lambasted NNPCL for deceiving Nigerians regarding the operations of the refineries, particularly the Port Harcourt and Warri plants, following the poor output from the facilities since their resumption of operations in November and December 2024.
NNPCL manages the three refineries for Nigerians. The plants had remained dormant for decades, but the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries resumed operations in November and December 2024, respectively.
However, less than one month after the Warri refinery resumed operations, the plant was again shut down due to safety concerns.
Port Harcourt refinery, on the other hand, has been operating below 40 per cent of its capacity since its widely celebrated revamp.
The new NNPCL management fired the managing directors of the three refineries while other senior officials of the national oil firm were also asked to leave; among them was Bala Wunti, a former chief of the National Petroleum Investment Management Services, a subsidiary of the NNPCL.
The new management also asked many officials with one year to their various retirement dates to leave.
EFCC is investigating a case of abuse of office and misappropriation of funds against Abubakar Yar’Adua, Mele Kyari, Isiaka Abdulrazak, Umar Ajiya, Dikko Ahmed, Ibrahim Onoja, Ademoye Jelili, Mustapha Sugungun, Kayode Adetokunbo, Efiok Akpan, Babatunde Bakare, Jimoh Olasunkanmi, Bello Kankaya and Desmond Inyama.