- The House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) has pledged to stop dollar-denominated port fees and charges on locally refined petroleum products, warning that the practice artificially inflates pump prices for consumers.
- Lawmakers are launching an inquiry into claims by depot operators that fuel import licences for the first three quarters of 2026 were repeatedly granted to the same select group of marketers.
- Major marketer associations, including DAPPMAN and IPMAN, have urged the government to establish a specialized Petroleum Bank with single-digit interest rates and protect open market competition alongside local refining.
The House of Representatives has initiated legislative interventions to address critical distortions in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector, opposing the continued imposition of US dollar-denominated charges on locally refined fuel transactions and launching an investigation into the allocation of import licences.
Eko Hot Blog reports that speaking at an interactive stakeholder session on Tuesday, the Chairman of the House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), Ikenga Ugochinyere, criticized the practice by agencies such as the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) of billing local maritime transport and port activities in foreign currency.
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He emphasized that forcing operators to pay dollar charges for purely domestic operations ultimately drives up pump prices for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).
The committee announced plans to summon the NMDPRA, NUPRC, NPA, Central Bank of Nigeria, and domestic refiners to harmonize operational policies under proposed amendments to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
The legislative move comes amid strong memoranda presented by major industry unions. Executive Secretary of the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), Olufemi Adewole, revealed that 72 out of 154 licensed petroleum depots nationwide have remained virtually inactive over the past year due to an unlevel playing field and high operating costs.
DAPPMAN accused regulators of creating a near-monopolistic supply structure and repeatedly issuing quarterly fuel import permits to an exclusive circle of marketers, while ignoring other qualified operators.
Addressing funding constraints, National President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Abubakar Shettima, urged the Federal Government to establish a specialized Petroleum Bank offering single-digit interest loans.
He noted that commercial lending rates of up to 32 percent severely inflate operating overheads for local distributors.
IPMAN also advocated for independent marketers to be granted equity or managerial participation in the rehabilitation of state-owned refineries to boost national energy security.
