The Tinubu Media Ambassadors (TMA) have accused Ikenga Ugochinyere, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Downstream Petroleum, of turning Nigeria's refinery rehabilitation programme into a political instrument ahead of the 2027 general elections. TMA President Mustapha Mohammed made the accusation in a statement on Sunday, August 30, responding to Ugochinyere's public criticism of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) over its handling of the ongoing refinery revival efforts.
Background of the Dispute
Ugochinyere had earlier raised concerns about what he described as the NNPCL's failure to supply his committee with adequate information on refinery rehabilitation and operations. The lawmaker said the committee had written to the company seeking documents and briefings from its Group Chief Executive Officer, Bashir Bayo Ojulari, and the executive vice-president in charge of the downstream sector. He also warned that the committee could invoke its constitutional powers if the company failed to comply.
Mohammed challenged Ugochinyere's credibility on the issue, pointing to the lawmaker's previous public confidence in former NNPCL chief Mele Kyari during a period when Nigeria's refineries remained largely inactive. "He gave Kyari so many votes of confidence when the refineries were not fixed. It is therefore curious that the same person is now raising these issues in this manner," Mohammed said.
TMA Defends NNPCL's Actions
Mohammed added that the NNPCL was carrying out a deliberate federal government policy and had not violated any legislation passed by the National Assembly or its committees. In his view, the most productive approach at this stage was to let the rehabilitation process run its course. "What is required at this point is to allow the process to work rather than creating unnecessary controversy around an intervention that is already being implemented," Mohammed said.
Mohammed also alleged that political actors opposed to the administration's petroleum reforms were exploiting the refinery issue to chip away at public confidence in the government ahead of the next election cycle. "Accusing the NNPCL of withholding information on the rehabilitation of Nigeria's refineries is a backend tactic by the same agents using cheap gimmicks to create the impression that the government is not doing anything," he said, adding that some of the same actors were already promising to restore fuel subsidies if voted into office in 2027.
Call to Separate Oversight from Politics
The TMA president called on Ugochinyere to draw a clear line between his oversight duties and his personal political ambitions, warning that the House committee should not become a platform for partisan interests. "Ugochinyere at this point should separate the institution of the House from his politics of 2027. Oversight is an important constitutional responsibility, but it should not become a platform for advancing partisan political interests," Mohammed said.
He argued that the refinery rehabilitation programme should be assessed by its progress and final results, not by political rhetoric.
Presidential Commitment to Refinery Revival
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that President Bola Tinubu assured Nigerians that the country's refineries will be revived and repositioned to become commercially viable, insisting that simply getting the plants to operate is not enough. The president spoke when he received the newly elected national executive of the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), led by its President, Comrade Salimon Akanni Oladiti, at the State House in Abuja.
