Former NACCIMA president faults NNPC's monopoly argument, calls for import licensing review under PIA
Nigeria spent a record N15.42 trillion on petrol imports in 2024, even as the 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Petroleum Refinery remained capable of meeting more than 90 per cent of the country's domestic fuel demand, former Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) President Dele Oye has said.
Oye, who chairs the Alliance for Economic Research and Ethics, made the claim on Wednesday, warning that Nigeria's continued reliance on imported refined petroleum products was draining the country's foreign exchange reserves and undermining its energy sovereignty.
The figures are borne out by data from the National Bureau of Statistics, which showed that Nigeria's petrol import bill surged by 105.3 per cent to N15.42 trillion in 2024 from N7.51 trillion recorded in 2023, the highest fuel import expenditure in the country's history.
Oye argued that full integration of the Dangote Refinery into the national supply system could save Nigeria between $6 billion and $11 billion annually in foreign exchange outflows, easing pressure on the naira and improving macroeconomic stability.
The former Organised Private Sector of Nigeria chairman directed particular criticism at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), which has argued in court that restricting fuel import permits would expose Nigeria to supply disruptions and undermine market competition. NNPC's position was set out in a counter-affidavit in suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/1324/2024, in which the state oil company contended that Dangote Refinery had not provided verifiable evidence that it could consistently meet Nigeria's total fuel demand and guarantee uninterrupted nationwide supply.
Oye dismissed that reasoning. "NNPC is not defending competition. It is defending importation. It is not protecting energy security. It is perpetuating dependency," he said, adding that the company's stance stood in direct contradiction to Nigeria's own laws and President Bola Tinubu's industrialisation agenda.
He pointed to the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 and the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, both of which, he argued, prioritise domestic refining and treat imports only as a short-term measure where local capacity is insufficient.
The persistence of fuel imports has occurred against the backdrop of NNPC's failure to supply the market from state-owned refineries: despite approximately $2.4 billion invested since 2021 to revive public facilities, the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries had still not produced usable volumes of petrol as of early 2025.
Under approvals granted in 2021 by Nigeria's Federal Executive Council, the government committed $1.5 billion to Port Harcourt, $897.6 million to Warri and $740.7 million to Kaduna, bringing total planned rehabilitation spending to over $3.1 billion. Both refineries operated only briefly after a relaunch in late 2024 before shutting down again.
Oye called for a review of import licensing under the PIA, stronger protections for domestic refineries and greater transparency in past turnaround maintenance expenditure on state-owned facilities. He also urged fiscal incentives to attract further private sector investment in refining infrastructure.
Drawing on the experience of Brazil, Saudi Arabia, India and the United States, Oye said those countries protect and support domestic refining capacity through targeted industrial policies, and that Nigeria risked undermining its industrialisation agenda by failing to do the same.
"The Dangote Refinery is not a monopoly threat. It is a sovereignty achievement," he said. "Nigeria does not need to import refined petroleum products. Nigeria needs to refine its own petroleum, by its own people, in its own facilities, for its own benefit."