Coalitions in support of President Bola Tinubu's administration's agenda, comprising Renewed Hope Interest Defenders, Lawyers in Defence of Accountability and CSOs for oil industry reforms, invaded the NNPCL headquarters on Wednesday, demanding the probe of the Group Chief Executive Officer,(GCEO), Bayo Ojulari's leadership.
They alleged that President Tinubu's oil industry reform was currently under threat.
The protesters, after a world press conference, marched through the streets of Abuja and ended at the NNPCL headquarters.
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The groups, at a live world press conference, unanimously passed a vote of no confidence in Ojulari and demanded the appointment of a GCEO that has the capacity to unite and serve as a stabilization link for the NNPCL.
Speaking at the conference, the groups' joint leader, Comrade Agu Obed, demanded that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) fast-track the ongoing investigation into the matter.
He alleged that a situation where an appointee of the president is in bed with key opposition leaders under the guise of a business relationship is a deliberate act of sabotage, which must be punished.
The groups praised President Tinubu for his reforms in the oil industry, which have offered hope.
According to the groups, "We question, in the strongest terms, the irrational and suspicious shutdown of our national refineries by Mr. Ojulari, barely 24 hours after he assumed office on May 24th, 2025.
"Let it be on record that millions of taxpayers' money have been invested in the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries, with several reports confirming that some of these refineries had started test-running and were functional.
"Yet, Mr. Ojulari, without recourse to stakeholders, and any official technical audit, allegedly ordered a shutdown of the facilities.
"This action is anti-people, anti-progress and targeted at undermining President Tinubu's goal of achieving energy self-sufficiency and reducing fuel imports.
"It is now an open secret within the industry that Mr. Ojulari has an agenda to deliberately demarket NNPCL to justify a privatisation process.
"This is a deliberate effort to sabotage the national refining effort and enrich private interests.
"This diversion must be investigated. We therefore call for an independent inspection by a team of credible, external engineers including COREN and refinery experts, to verify the true operational state of the refineries and to determine if there was ever a genuine reason to shut them down."
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