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‘PIB Restricts Petroleum Products Import To Refinery Owners’
The Senate’s decision to award just three per cent to oil-bearing communities may not be the only controversial clause in the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) as a closer check has shown that the Upper Chamber also provided that petroleum products can only be imported by refinery owners in Nigeria.
While the bill expectedly removed price controls on petroleum products in Section 205, the Senate version of the bill has a clause that constrains market competition by restricting the importation of products to only players with local refining capacity.
This clearly counters the provision of 205(1), “Subject to the provisions of this Section, from the effective date, wholesale and retail prices of petroleum products shall be based on unrestricted free-market pricing conditions.”
The inserted Section 317 (8) in the Senate bill states, “(1) The Authority shall apply the Backward Integration Policy in the downstream petroleum sector to encourage investment in local refining.
“(2) To support this, licence to import any product shortfalls shall be assigned only to companies with active local refining licences.
“(3) Import volume to be allocated between participants based on their respective production in the preceding quarter.
“(4) Such import to be done under NNPC Limited Direct Sale/Direct Purchase (DSDP) scheme.
“(5) To safeguard the health of Nigerians, imported petroleum products shall conform to the Afri-5 specification (50ppm sulphur) as per the ECOWAS declaration of February, 2020 on adoption of the Afri-Fuels Roadmap”.
The decision by the Senate to impose restrictions on what is supposed to be a deregulated downstream sector of the petroleum industry raised eyebrows among experts who called for the provisions to be expunged.
When contacted, yesterday, energy expert and former President of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (Nigerian Council), Engr. Joseph Nwakwue, expressed concern that the provisions will create a duopoly in a price deregulated environment thereby destroying the Nigerian downstream industry as we know it today.
According to him, “It restricts importation of all petroleum products, including PMS, diesel, aviation fuel, lubricants, and base oil – products which are already deregulated, to only players with local refining capacity.
“In the near term, only the NNPC and Dangote will have domestic refining capacity for PMS for instance, so, they will be the only importers. This takes the industry back and could not have been the intention of the bill.
“Moving from a state-owned monopoly in a price regulated market to a duopoly in a price deregulated market is not what Nigeria needs now as it takes the industry backward and exposes Nigerians to exploitation and further hardship. This, in my humble view, is not reformatory”.
He pointed out that “rather than seek to protect refiners, we should rather seek to protect the consumers by liberalizing and expanding petroleum product supply sources. That is the only way prices will be ‘market-determined’ and consumers made to pay fair value for the products they buy.
“The viability of local refining is not determined or enhanced by locking out competition, it is rather achieved through price deregulation which has been done in Section 205.
“This clause gives statutory unfair advantage to private players rather than through market competition.
“Indeed, the law and the authorities have an obligation to protect the market (other players including Nigerian entrepreneurs) and the consumers rather than to encourage monopoly/duopoly by locking out competition.
“This clause does not create a level playing field for all players in the sector, and can, indeed, destroy existing Nigerian businesses that engage in importation of other petroleum products like diesel, LPG, Aviation fuel etc. with attendant loss of jobs and more economic misery for Nigeria and Nigerians”, he added.
Nwankwue pointed out that governments all over the world “do not create and encourage monopolies or duopolies and that is why anti-trust laws are enacted and enforced to protect industries and consumers.
“Nigeria should not be doing the reverse. A case can always be made about protectionist policies for nascent or pioneer industries, but this is not the case with a long-established, once-thriving Nigerian downstream.
“This clause needs to be expunged from the PIB. The downstream regulator – Authority should be left to develop regulations that are fair, inclusive and transparent for petroleum product importation that ensures open and diverse market supply and hence competition, only then would the objectives of the bill be achieved.
“It is worth repeating that as price control is being removed, supply must be competitive, inclusive, transparent and seen to encourage efficiency. Then, and only then will Nigerians and Nigerian win”, he added.
Also in his remarks, energy expert, Ademola Adigun, said the provision was clearly put in place to favour certain players in the industry.
According to him, “It is a clause designed to give an advantage to Dangote. It’s not a fair clause based on current realities and is capable of creating an oligopoly in the market.
“It’s very unfair and seems inserted to please a certain group”, he added.
Also, a document detailing industry players’ position on the PIB stated this about the section, “A licensing regime for importation be included in Section 174 and the conditions for licensing be open and transparent, ensuring free-market competition and a level playing field for all parties. This will enhance market efficiencies”.
The Senate and the House of Representatives had, last Thursday, set-up conference committees to harmonise both versions of the PIB.
The committees are expected to meet, today.
The harmonized version is also expected to be passed by both chambers before the National Assembly proceeds on its annual break on Thursday.
The agency also arrested an 80-year-old suspected drug dealer in Rivers State, a businesswoman linked to cannabis shipments from Canada, a Chadian woman, a couple and other suspects in coordinated operations across Lagos, Edo, Kogi and Rivers states.
The NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement, yesterday.
According to the statement, the latest intelligence-led operation came barely one week after NDLEA operatives recovered 558,900 pills of tramadol concealed in the false-bottom compartment of a truck that entered Lagos through the Togo-Benin Republic route.
Babafemi said, “Ongoing efforts to dismantle a transnational drug trafficking syndicate smuggling tramadol from Togo, through Benin Republic into Nigeria have yielded another success with the interception of two long trailers used to move One Million Six Hundred and Thirty (1,630,000) pills of tramadol 250mg concealed in fabricated compartments of the trucks across multiple borders into Lagos.”
He added that one of the two trailers was intercepted on July 2 along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, where operatives recovered 853,000 pills of tramadol 250mg concealed in a fabricated compartment beneath the cargo floor.
Babafemi said, “One of the two trucks already heading to Kano was tracked and located on 2nd July 2026 along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway where NDLEA officers recovered 853,000 pills of tramadol 250mg concealed in a fabricated compartment beneath the cargo floor of the trailer and arrested the 22-year-old driver Jabir Kabiru.”
He further disclosed that another trailer was intercepted two days later on the same route.
“Two days later, 4th July, NDLEA operatives acting on processed intelligence successfully tracked and recovered the second trailer from the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway while heading to Kano. A total of 777,000 pills of tramadol 250mg concealed in a fabricated compartment beneath the cargo floor of the truck were evacuated and the 22-year-old driver Muhammed Nuhu arrested,” the statement read.
According to Babafemi, investigations established a link between the three intercepted consignments.
He said, “Investigations revealed that all three trucks and consignments intercepted on 21st June, 2nd July and 4th July belong to the same transnational drug trafficking syndicate operating along the Togo-Benin Republic-Nigeria axis.”
The agency also intercepted 4.70 kilograms of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.
Babafemi said, “Two consignments of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, with a combined weight of 4.70 kilograms have been intercepted at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos. The cargoes, which arrived the Lagos airport from Canada in cartons with ‘Odugwu’ boldly written on them, came aboard British Airways and Ethiopian Airlines flights on 24th June and 3rd July respectively.”
He said two cargo agents, Ali Rotimi Samson and Orimolade Oluwagbenga, were initially arrested in connection with the shipments, while another suspect, Edeh Onyeamachi Stanislus, was apprehended after arriving at a logistics company to take delivery of the consignments.
The ministry, in a public notice posted on its official X handle, yesterday, described messages, links and websites advertising the alleged programme as fraudulent.
It urged Nigerians to disregard such claims and verify information only through official government channels.
“The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction has NOT commenced registration for any ?50,000 National Support Allowance,” the ministry said.
It added, “Disregard fraudulent messages, links and websites claiming otherwise. Verify any info only through official govt channels.”
The alert is in response to a circulating scam flyer that falsely claims the program is ongoing under President Bola Tinubu’s directives.
The fake advertisement, which includes text in Hausa and English, directs victims to a suspicious website (kluspz.com) for applications.
The ministry’s warning comes amid heightened concerns over digital fraud targeting vulnerable populations seeking social support.
Similar scams have previously surfaced around programs like N-Power, prompting questions from citizens in replies to the official post.
NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, hinted at this while making his remarks at the commissioning of the Comrade Godwin Abumisi Pensioners Legacy House and Multipurpose Hall in Abuja.
Ajaero said it is no longer acceptable to discuss the welfare of workers without also discussing the welfare of those who have completed their active years of service.
He advised workers and pensioners to get prepared for the ideological and economic battles that lie ahead.
According to the NLC president, “The Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) is one of the proud affiliates of the Nigeria Labour Congress. Therefore, your struggle is our struggle, and your welfare remains a priority for the organised labour movement.
“We are currently in the preparatory stages for a major national struggle for a comprehensive review of the national minimum wage.
“However, let me state unequivocally that it is no longer acceptable to discuss the welfare of workers without also discussing the welfare of those who have completed their active years of service.
“Accordingly, the Nigeria Labour Congress will not only push for a new national minimum wage but will also demand the establishment of a national minimum pension. It is a historical injustice that men and women who devoted their youth, strength and productive years to the service of this nation should be condemned to live below the poverty line after retirement.”
Ajaero noted that the cost of living has risen astronomically as food, healthcare and transportation have become increasingly unaffordable.
“We cannot continue to allow our senior citizens to survive on pensions that have become poverty wages. Every retiree deserves to live with dignity after decades of faithful service to the nation,” he said.
He urged pensioners across the country to remain united and prepared as the process begins, adding: “This Legacy House should not merely be seen as a physical structure; it should become a centre for mobilisation, strategic engagement and solidarity as we prepare for the struggles ahead.”
The NLC president pointed out that the working class has always understood that “those who exploit workers are united in advancing their interests. We too must remain united in defending our collective interests and ensuring that government fulfils its obligations to both serving workers and retirees.”
He urged pensioners across the country to remain united and prepared as the process begins, adding: “This Legacy House should not merely be seen as a physical structure; it should become a centre for mobilisation, strategic engagement and solidarity as we prepare for the struggles ahead.”
The NLC president pointed out that the working class has always understood that “those who exploit workers are united in advancing their interests. We too must remain united in defending our collective interests and ensuring that government fulfils its obligations to both serving workers and retirees.”
He said the completion of the project should serve as a clarion call to all workers and lovers of the masses.
“We must not only build physical structures but also build a strong movement capable of compelling government to honour its commitments,” he said.
Ajaero further stated: “We will continue to demand the immediate payment of all outstanding pension arrears and the implementation of a pension regime that guarantees every retiree a life of dignity and security.
“Together, we shall continue to fight until every Nigerian worker and pensioner receives the justice, respect and welfare they deserve.”