The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has called on the new chief executives of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Saidu Aliyu Mohammed, and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, to prioritise domestic refining over imported product.
CPPE made the call in a statement made available to Nairametrics.
The call is coming shortly after Saidu Aliyu Mohammed assumed duty as the new chief executive following the resignation of Ahmed Farouk.
Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan has also assumed duty following a handover from the immediate past Chief Executive, Gbenga Komolafe, who resigned last week.
What CPPE is saying
CPPE stressed that strong and deliberate support for domestic refining must be an immediate and non-negotiable priority.
It called for government policy to clearly favour locally refined petroleum products through targeted fiscal, regulatory, and infrastructural support for both public and private refineries, while encouraging new investments in refining capacity.
“Nigeria must end the current distortion whereby imported petroleum products are made to compete with locally refined products under unequal regulatory and fiscal conditions. Genuine competition only exists when all operators function within the same policy, tax and regulatory environment,” CPPE noted.
The group added that a strong domestic refining base is fundamental to building a resilient, energy-secure economy, while also driving job creation, foreign exchange conservation, macroeconomic stability, and export-oriented refining capacity.
“The NMDPRA must therefore place domestic refining at the centre of its policy framework, in line with the President’s Nigeria-First policy direction and industrialisation agenda. This is not merely to protect investors, but to safeguard Nigeria’s long-term economic interests.”
Upstream agenda: Boosting production
On the upstream side, CPPE urged the NUPRC to prioritise crude oil and gas production growth by implementing policies that attract fresh investments across onshore and offshore assets.
The organisation said Nigeria must maximise the value of its hydrocarbon resources while the global energy transition accelerates.
“The NUPRC should prioritise production growth, investment facilitation and improved security, with a clear national objective of raising crude oil output to a minimum of two million barrels per day,” CPPE advised.
Expanded investment in gas production and strict compliance with domestic crude supply obligations to local refineries were also highlighted as critical priorities.
Resetting Nigeria’s petroleum regulatory architecture
CPPE commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for resetting Nigeria’s petroleum regulatory architecture through the appointment of new Chief Executive Officers for the NMDPRA and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
According to CPPE, the appointments present a strategic opportunity to reposition the oil and gas regulatory environment in line with the administration’s commitment to energy sovereignty, security, self-reliance, and accelerated production growth.
“The new leadership of Nigeria’s petroleum regulatory institutions must urgently refocus sector priorities on reducing import dependence, expanding domestic capacity and catalysing investment across the entire oil and gas value chain,” CPPE stated.
What you should know
The policy statement comes amid controversy in the downstream sector. Earlier this month, Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group, accused the NMDPRA of releasing figures that did not accurately reflect production at its Lekki refinery.
- Dangote argued that the regulator’s reports only accounted for products evacuated from the facility, not those refined and held in stock.
- He also accused former NMDPRA Managing Director, Ahmed Farouk, of undermining domestic refining efforts by colluding with international oil traders and importers through the continued issuance of petroleum import licences. Dangote further alleged that Farouk funded the education of his children in Switzerland with millions of dollars without evidence of lawful income.
Farouk has since resigned his position as head of the NMDPRA.
CPPE concluded that the new petroleum regulatory leadership must define its direction around domestic refining, production growth, investment facilitation, and energy security if Nigeria’s oil and gas sector is to drive sustainable growth, industrialisation, and long-term economic resilience.
