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No Petrol Subsidy Removal Without Domestic Refining, IPMAN Insists
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, has insisted that it is opposed to the removal of subsidy on petrol with the country refining the product locally.
IPMAN explained that with the government importing all premium motor spirit, petrol, consumed in the country, removing the over N3.5 trillion subsidy would expose Nigerians to arbitrary pricing.
The IPMAN Public Relations Officer, Chief Chinedu Ukadike in a note to Vanguard at the weekend insisted there has to local refining before the subsidy could be removed.
Chief Ukadike said refining in-country should be the government priority, stressing that any decision on petrol subsidy removal should be left for the incoming administration.
According to him, “IPMAN is in support that the outgoing administration of President Muhammadu Buhari should not go into the removal of the subsidy as factors that would necessitate the removal of subsidy have not been put in place by the government.
“IPMAN also supports the position of PENGASSAN that our refineries should work and that our pipelines should be repaired in order to move petroleum products out of the coastal areas to the dry land closer to marketers that allow them load petroleum products as quickly as possible without having to move long distance.
“These are the factors that aid the movement to subsidy regime removal and if these factors are not in place, we will be able to curb petrol importation and guard against exorbitant pricing”.
Chief Ukadike noted that any attempt to remove the subsidy by President Buhari would create hardship for the people and challenges for the incoming administration.
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, had last week advised the incoming administration to, as a matter of urgency, remove fuel subsidy as part of efforts to facilitate growth of the downstream sector of the oil and gas industry.
PENGASSAN President, Comrade Festus Osifo, told journalists that past administrations’ commitments to retaining subsidy in the country have adversely affected cost of living and the economy at large, also said that subsidy has shrunk the country’s dollar reserve and further frustrated the exchange market.
While maintaining its stand on removal of subsidy, he advised that the move would help the country save more and speed up infrastructural development across the country.
The PENGASSAN boss expressed belief that the subsidy will have a positive impact on the nation’s foreign exchange which would in turn rub off positively on the citizens.
According to him, the issue of subsidy, if removed, we believe that the downstream sector of the oil and gas industry will actually grow much more if that sector is deregulated.
“And in the last seven years, we have actually maintained that stand. We have maintained our stance not minding some of the side effects. But again, if you look at these subsidy attacks we tend to be trying to hold on to something why we are losing in some other areas.
“If you look at the cost of living, it has gone up drastically, by over and over, three times in the last two, or three years. If you look at the drivers of why the cost of living has actually moved to where it is today, it is actually because of the fact that our exchange rate has plummeted. Before now, our exchange rate used to be somewhere around 100 plus Naira to $1. But, today, it’s around 800. It even moved beyond it to 800 sometime last year.
“So, now, why is this exchange moving up? Because we are not aiming foreign exchange. Oil and gas is where we earn about 80 to 90% of our foreign exchange. But, at the end of the day, this money is now being used on any subsidy, importing PMS and when you now import this PMS what will now happen in return you will not sell in Naira. So, that has a shrinking dollar reserve and because our dollar reserve has shrunk to the level it is today.
“That is actually why our exchange rate has plummeted. So now, if we address this problem, if we look at domestic refining, and we also look at the issues bothering on subsidy, if we address this, Nigerian and the Nigerian government will earn more money from the crude oil save and that money will go into CBN; it will shore up our reserves and it will support lots of other imports and the pressure in USD”.
The Nigeria Immigration Service has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this yesterday while inspecting Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
He said the centralised production system aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for better service delivery.
The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has disbursed N2.225 trillion as federation revenue for the month of August 2025, the highest ever allocation to the three tiers of government and other statutory recipients.
This marks the second consecutive month that FAAC disbursements have crossed the N2 trillion mark.
The revenue, shared at the August 2025 FAAC meeting in Abuja, was buoyed by increases in oil and gas royalty, value-added tax (VAT), and common external tariff (CET) levies, according to a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting.
Out of the N2.225 trillion total distributable revenue, FAAC said N1,478.593 trillion came from statutory revenue, N672.903 billion from VAT, N32.338 billion from the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), and N41.284 billion from Exchange Difference.
The communiqué revealed that gross federation revenue for the month stood at N3.635 trillion. From this amount, N124.839 billion was deducted as cost of collection, while N1,285.845 trillion was set aside for transfers, interventions, refunds, and savings.
From the statutory revenue of N1.478 trillion, the Federal Government received N684.462 billion, State Governments received N347.168 billion, and Local Government Councils received N267.652 billion. A further N179.311 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) went to oil-producing states as derivation revenue.
From the distributable VAT revenue of N672.903 billion, the Federal Government received N100.935 billion, the states received N336.452 billion, while the local governments got N235.516 billion.
Of the N32.338 billion shared from EMTL, the Federal Government received N4.851 billion, the States received N16.169 billion, and the Local Governments received N11.318 billion.
From the N41.284 billion exchange difference, the Federal Government received N19.799 billion, the states received N10.042 billion, and the local governments received N7.742 billion, while N3.701 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared to the oil-producing states as derivation.
The Governing Council of Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic, Bori, has decried the inadequate power supply and poor state of infrastructural facilities and equipment at the institution.
The Council also appealed to the government, including Non-Governmental Organisations, agencies, as well as well-meaning Rivers people to intervene to restore and sustain the laudable gesture, dreams and aspirations of the founding fathers of the polytechnic.
The Chairman of the newly inaugurated Council, Professor Friday B. Sigalo, made this appeal during a tour of facilities at the Polytechnic, recently.
Accompanied by members of the team, Prof Sigalo emphasised the position of technology, technical and vocational education in sustainable development.
He noted that with the prospects on ground, and the programmes and activities undertaken in the polytechnic, there is no doubt that the institution would add values to the educational system in our society and foster the desired development, if the existing challenges are jointly tackled.
This was contained in a statement signed by Deputy Registrar, Public Relations, Kenpoly, Innocent Ogbonda-Nwanwu, and made available to The Tide in Port Harcourt.
The chairman who restated the intention of his team of technocrats to ensure that KenPoly enjoys desirable face-lift, said the Council would deliver on its core mandates, accordingly.
Earlier, the Rector, KenPoly Engr. Dr. Ledum S. Gwarah, commended the appointment of Professor Friday B. Sigalo as Chairman of the KenPoly Governing Council.
He described him and his team as seasoned technocrats and expressed confidence in their ability to succeed.
The Rector pledged the management’s support to the Council to ensure that KenPoly resumes its rightful place in the comity of polytechnics in the country.
Facilities visited by the Governing Council include KenPoly workshops, laboratories, skills acquisition centre, library, hostels and medical centre.
Chinedu Wosu
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