{"id":196792,"date":"2026-03-16T01:31:24","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T00:31:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/energy-group-urges-tinubu-to-reconsider-petrol-permits"},"modified":"2026-03-16T02:40:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T01:40:16","slug":"energy-group-urges-tinubu-to-reconsider-petrol-permits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/economy\/energy-group-urges-tinubu-to-reconsider-petrol-permits","title":{"rendered":"Energy Group Urges Tinubu to Reconsider Petrol Permits"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Nigeria. <\/strong><\/span>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\u2019s efforts to strengthen domestic refining and stabilise the economy.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>The group\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>Kareem said while the regulator\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur respectful appeal to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is that decisions concerning petrol importation must be carefully weighed against their long-term economic consequences,\u201d Kareem said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNigeria 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He warned that increasing petrol imports could place additional pressure on the country\u2019s foreign exchange reserves, especially at a time when the government is pursuing difficult economic reforms aimed at stabilising the naira and improving fiscal discipline.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor many years, the country has lost enormous volumes of foreign exchange importing petroleum products that could ideally be refined locally,\u201d Kareem said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>According to Kareem, Nigeria\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He added that encouraging domestic refining and strengthening local supply chains would provide better product traceability and improve overall market transparency.<\/p>\n<p>Kareem stressed that the group\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>However, he urged the federal government to ensure that short-term supply management does not weaken long-term national objectives in the petroleum sector.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe recognise that the regulator has the responsibility to ensure that Nigerians do not experience fuel shortages, and that duty is extremely important,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut 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\u2019s commitment to energy self-sufficiency.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>He urged the president to ensure that the country\u2019s regulatory framework reflects that strategic vision.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur 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\u2019s economic stability,\u201d Kareem noted.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Nigeria<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Nigeria. 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\u2019s efforts to strengthen domestic refining and stabilise the economy. In a statement released on Sunday in Abuja, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":196791,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,15,29,28,2660],"tags":[254],"class_list":["post-196792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","category-head-lines","category-homepage-english","category-to-homepage","tag-nigeria"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Energy Group Urges Tinubu to Reconsider Petrol Permits - Nigeria<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An energy policy group has advised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to reconsider the wider economic consequences of newly is ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/economy\/energy-group-urges-tinubu-to-reconsider-petrol-permits\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Energy Group Urges Tinubu to Reconsider Petrol Permits\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An energy policy group has advised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to reconsider the wider economic consequences of newly is ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/economy\/energy-group-urges-tinubu-to-reconsider-petrol-permits\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nigeria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-16T00:31:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-16T01:40:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2026\/03\/sm_1773625067.359688.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/economy\/energy-group-urges-tinubu-to-reconsider-petrol-permits#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/economy\/energy-group-urges-tinubu-to-reconsider-petrol-permits\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Energy Group Urges Tinubu to Reconsider Petrol Permits\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-16T00:31:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-16T01:40:16+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/economy\/energy-group-urges-tinubu-to-reconsider-petrol-permits\"},\"wordCount\":729,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/economy\/energy-group-urges-tinubu-to-reconsider-petrol-permits#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2026\/03\/sm_1773625067.359688.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Nigeria\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Economy\",\"head lines\",\"homepage-english\",\"to-homepage\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/economy\/energy-group-urges-tinubu-to-reconsider-petrol-permits#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/economy\/energy-group-urges-tinubu-to-reconsider-petrol-permits\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/economy\/energy-group-urges-tinubu-to-reconsider-petrol-permits\",\"name\":\"Energy Group Urges Tinubu to Reconsider Petrol Permits - 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