Monday, March, 16 2026 - An energy policy group has advised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to reconsider the wider economic consequences of newly issued permits allowing marketers to import petrol into the country, warning that the move could undermine Nigeria’s efforts to strengthen domestic refining and stabilize the economy.
In a statement released on Sunday in Abuja, the Energy
Transparency and Market Justice Initiative, ETMJI, said the approvals granted
by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority,
NMDPRA, could produce unintended consequences if not carefully managed.
The group’s president, Dr Salako Kareem, said Nigeria was at
a delicate moment in its energy transition and that policy choices made now
would determine whether the country finally escapes its decades-long dependence
on imported refined petroleum products.
Kareem said while the regulator’s responsibility to
guarantee adequate fuel supply is understood, expanding import permissions at
this stage could weaken the policy direction required to encourage local
production and long-term sector stability.
“Our respectful appeal to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is
that decisions concerning petrol importation must be carefully weighed against
their long-term economic consequences,” Kareem said.
“Nigeria has spent decades trying to overcome the paradox of
being a major crude oil producer while relying heavily on imported refined
products. Any policy action that appears to reopen the floodgates of
importation may slow down the progress that has been made toward strengthening
domestic refining capacity.”
He warned that increasing petrol imports could place
additional pressure on the country’s foreign exchange reserves, especially at a
time when the government is pursuing difficult economic reforms aimed at
stabilising the naira and improving fiscal discipline.
“For many years, the country has lost enormous volumes of
foreign exchange importing petroleum products that could ideally be refined
locally,” Kareem said.
“If import volumes begin to rise again, the demand for
foreign currency will inevitably grow. This could place renewed strain on the
naira and undermine the broader economic stabilisation programme that the
government is currently pursuing.”
The group also warned that excessive reliance on imported
petrol could create opportunities for product dumping and the entry of
substandard fuel into the Nigerian market, a challenge that has troubled
regulators and consumers in the past.
According to Kareem, Nigeria’s downstream sector has
historically struggled with quality control issues whenever importation becomes
widespread, because imported fuel often travels through multiple intermediaries
before reaching domestic depots.
“One of the lessons from the past is that when imports
dominate the supply chain, the market sometimes becomes vulnerable to the
dumping of inferior petroleum products,” he said.
“This not only creates regulatory complications but also
exposes Nigerian consumers to fuels that may damage vehicles, affect industrial
machinery and ultimately impose hidden economic costs on the country.”
He added that encouraging domestic refining and
strengthening local supply chains would provide better product traceability and
improve overall market transparency.
Kareem stressed that the group’s intervention was not
intended as criticism of the NMDPRA, noting that regulators must often make
complex decisions to prevent supply disruptions in a volatile energy market.
However, he urged the federal government to ensure that
short-term supply management does not weaken long-term national objectives in
the petroleum sector.
“We recognise that the regulator has the responsibility to
ensure that Nigerians do not experience fuel shortages, and that duty is
extremely important,” he said.
“But at the same time, policy coherence is essential. The
country must avoid sending signals that could discourage investment in local
refining or create uncertainty about Nigeria’s commitment to energy
self-sufficiency.”
Kareem said Nigeria now has a rare opportunity to
restructure its downstream petroleum industry in a way that strengthens
domestic production, protects foreign exchange reserves and builds long-term
industrial capacity.
He urged the president to ensure that the country’s
regulatory framework reflects that strategic vision.
“Our appeal is simply for policy alignment. If Nigeria truly
wants to build a resilient energy economy, then every major decision in the
downstream sector must reinforce the goal of reducing import dependence,
strengthening domestic production and protecting the country’s economic
stability,” Kareem noted.
The group added that careful policy coordination between
regulators and the presidency would help ensure that Nigeria avoids repeating
the costly fuel import cycles that have historically drained public resources
and weakened the national economy.
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