The Unbiased Petroleum Entrepreneurs Affiliation of Nigeria (IPMAN) has raised contemporary considerations over what it describes as a rising monopoly within the oil and gasoline sector, pointing fingers straight on the Nigerian Nationwide Petroleum Firm Restricted (NNPCL).
Talking in an unique interview with Every day Put up, IPMAN’s Nationwide Public Relations Officer, Chinedu Ukadike, alleged that NNPCL’s failure to make sure the performance of state-owned refineries was making a lopsided enjoying subject that favors the Dangote Refinery.
“Let’s be clear: it isn’t Dangote Refinery that’s encouraging monopoly; it’s NNPCL,” Ukadike declared. “If the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries have been operational, they’d function a powerful counterbalance, introducing wholesome competitors and finally driving down costs of petroleum merchandise.”
Ukadike emphasised the urgency of the scenario, calling on President Bola Tinubu to instantly declare a state of emergency on Nigeria’s moribund refineries.
His feedback come within the wake of the latest announcement by NNPCL that the Port Harcourt Refining Firm (PHRC) has been shut down for upkeep—with out offering a transparent timeline for resumption of operations.
This has reignited public debate over the standing and viability of the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, each of which have been reportedly rehabilitated between November and December 2024 at a staggering price of over $1.5 billion.
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Many stakeholders had hoped that the rehabilitation would mark a turning level for home refining, however the newest improvement seems to have dashed these expectations.
For IPMAN, the results are clear: with out functioning state-owned refineries, the downstream sector stays susceptible to monopolistic pricing and a scarcity of provide choices.
“So long as NNPCL refineries stay dormant, there might be no true competitors out there,” Ukadike warned.
The affiliation’s name provides to rising stress on the federal authorities to offer transparency, accountability, and pressing intervention within the nation’s refining sector—amid fears that years of funding might have as soon as once more gone to waste.
