Category: Nigerian Tribune

DOES President Bola Tinubu know that Alhaji Aliko Dangote says the cement he exports from Nigeria is cheaper than the cement he sells to Nigerians at home? If he does, has anyone in his government satisfactorily explained to him why? We, the people, demand an explanation.

These questions have become necessary following disturbing findings by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC). After a three-month cross-border investigation, the Commission says its preliminary findings suggest possible manipulation of cement prices in Nigeria. It compared Nigeria with Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Egypt, Morocco and Algeria, examining limestone availability, population, production capacity, consumption and retail prices. This deserves urgent attention. Readers will therefore permit this necessary digression from the electricity-sector series we began last week.

Our advantage begins beneath our feet

Limestone is not a scarce mineral in Nigeria. Commercial deposits occur across the country’s sedimentary basins, including the Benue Trough, Dahomey Basin and Sokoto Basin, supporting major cement-producing centres from Ogun and Cross River to Benue, Gombe and Sokoto states. The Nigerian Geological Survey Agency estimates the country’s limestone resources at about 10.6 billion tonnes, including 568 million tonnes of proven reserves.

Nigeria therefore possesses enormous domestic reserves of the principal raw material for cement production. Our installed cement-production capacity exceeds 60 million metric tonnes annually, against estimated domestic consumption of approximately 25-30 million tonnes. Nigeria consequently possesses substantial excess installed capacity and is a net exporter of cement to other African countries. Ordinarily, abundant raw materials, substantial excess production capacity and competition among producers should exert downward pressure on prices. Instead, the opposite appears to be happening.

Will somebody explain the price disparities?

According to the FCCPC, a 50kg bag of cement selling for between ?9,300 and ?9,700 in January 2026 had risen to ?10,500-?13,000 by mid-year and ?13,000-?15,000 in some locations by July.Now consider what consumers elsewhere in Africa are paying. Among the comparative prices published by the FCCPC, a bag sells for approximately ?7,344 in Kenya, ?6,528 in Tanzania and ?9,180 in Togo. How does this make economic sense, especially when Nigeria itself is a net exporter of cement?

The FCCPC is therefore right to investigate whether these prices result entirely from legitimate production costs or whether coordinated behaviour, abuse of market power, restriction of domestic supply or anti-competitive distribution practices are involved. Three major producers reportedly account for more than 90 percent of Nigeria’s installed cement-production capacity. Such concentration does not establish collusion, but it makes vigorous competition regulation indispensable.

Dangote’s tax explanation

Alhaji Aliko Dangote has provided an explanation that President Tinubu’s government should take seriously. In December 2025, during an interview with Business Insider Africa, Dangote argued that cement exported from Nigeria could be sold more cheaply because exports escape some domestic taxes and levies. He specifically mentioned 30 percent company income tax, two percent education levy, one percent health levy, 7.5 percent VAT and 10 percent withholding tax, arguing that avoiding these burdens enables exported Nigerian cement to compete with products from Turkey, Russia and China.

Dangote’s argument deserves interrogation.

Nigeria implemented major tax reforms from January 2026. The reforms were advertised as simplifying taxation, eliminating multiplicity, improving the business environment and reducing distortions. Some of the taxes and levies Dangote identified in December 2025 have since been altered or consolidated. Moreover, company income tax is imposed on taxable profits, VAT operates differently from income tax, and withholding tax is principally a tax-collection mechanism. They cannot simply be added together as though every percentage represents an additional tax directly imposed on the production cost of each bag of cement.

Questions for Tinubu’s cabinet members

Is Dangote’s explanation still correct under the new tax regime? Mr Taiwo Oyedele, who led Tinubu’s tax-reform programme before becoming Finance Minister, should tell us. How much tax is actually embedded in a 50kg bag of cement? NRS Chairman Dr Zacch Adedeji should publish the effective tax burden per bag of cement at the ex-factory price.

Let us have the numbers. Which taxes and levies apply when cement is sold domestically? Which disappear when it is exported? How much do they add to the factory-gate price?

These questions extend beyond cement. If Nigerian manufacturers generate much of their own electricity, provide some of their own infrastructure and still carry a tax burden sufficiently heavy to make their products more expensive at home than abroad, something is fundamentally wrong with our industrial system.

This is why the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, must explain why decades of backward-integration policies have not produced the expected consumer dividend. Nigerians accepted years of protection for the cement industry on the promise that domestic capacity would eventually deliver self-sufficiency and competitive prices. Capacity came. Exports came. Why have lower prices not followed?

The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, complained that high cement prices were putting pressure on federal infrastructure projects and encouraging contractors to demand contract variations. He said the Federal Government would begin engaging manufacturers from July 1. Did those engagements take place? What was the outcome? The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Engr Muttaqha Rabe Darma, should also explain how government intends to address Nigeria’s enormous housing deficit without addressing the cost of one of its most important building materials. These ministers cannot operate in silos while Nigerians bear the consequences. Mr President, coordinate your team and confront the cost of cement head-on.

FCCPC must finish what it started

The FCCPC must demonstrate that it is an economic regulator and not another Nigerian institution that announces investigations only for the matter to disappear when public attention moves elsewhere. Its investigation should establish the ex-factory price of cement, manufacturers’ production costs and margins, distributors’ and retailers’ margins, capacity utilisation, domestic dispatch volumes, export volumes, transportation costs and the actual tax burden embedded in domestic cement prices. The Commission says all the major manufacturers except one cooperated by making their records available. Who refused? The FCCPC should tell Nigerians and use its lawful powers to obtain the necessary information.

Most importantly, this investigation must distinguish between government-created costs and market-created costs.If taxes are the problem, Oyedele and Adedeji should fix them. If manufacturers are restricting domestic supply, coordinating prices or abusing market power, the FCCPC should establish the evidence and sanction them. If distributors are imposing excessive margins, expose them.

The President must show leadership in this

President Tinubu should take charge because cement is not a luxury product. It sits at the foundation of houses, roads, bridges, schools, hospitals and factories. Its price eventually appears in rents, house prices, infrastructure contracts and government expenditure. This is therefore not merely a dispute about what Dangote Cement, BUA Cement, HBM Nigeria or their distributors charge for a bag of cement. It is a test of Nigeria’s taxation, industrial policy, competition regulation, infrastructure policy and housing strategy.

Oyedele should tell us whether Dangote’s tax explanation remains valid under the new tax regime. Adedeji should quantify the tax burden on a bag of cement. Umahi should tell us what became of government’s promised engagement with manufacturers. Darma should explain what expensive cement means for affordable housing. Oduwole should explain where the consumer dividend from decades of cement-industry protection has gone.

And the FCCPC must follow the evidence wherever it leads.

Nigeria has the limestone, the factories and excess installed capacity. Nigerians should notpay more for Nigerian cement than consumers in countries to which we export it.

Residents of Bogo Community in Grako Ward, Akko Local Government Area of Gombe, have appealed to the government to urgently rehabilitate the community’s only primary healthcare centre, which was recently damaged by a heavy downpour.

The affected Bogo Primary Health Centre, located in Hayin Kwarin Misau, has been forced to suspend normal operations after a large section of the facility collapsed following the rainstorm.

A community leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the development had left residents, particularly pregnant women, nursing mothers and children, struggling to access healthcare services.

According to him, the health facility had been in a deplorable condition for a long time before the recent incident, which he attributed to prolonged neglect by the relevant authorities.

He said the closure had compelled residents to seek medical attention at facilities located far from the community, thereby increasing the hardship faced by vulnerable residents.

The community leader appealed to the Chairman of Akko Local Government Council and other relevant authorities to urgently intervene and restore the facility to enable residents to access basic healthcare services.

Checks at the facility showed that it had been serving a significant number of residents before the collapse.

Between 20 and 35 pregnant women reportedly visited the facility monthly for their first antenatal care (ANC) appointments, while between 35 and 50 others returned for follow-up visits.

The facility also attended to between 10 and 15 pregnant women seeking skilled birth delivery services each month, while between 50 and 60 children were brought in for routine immunisation.

It also recorded between 1,000 and 1,500 outpatient visits monthly, in addition to between 40 and 50 clients who accessed family planning services.

Following the collapse, the facility is currently operating from the living room of the only staff quarters within the premises.

The situation has further raised concerns about the safety and adequacy of the temporary arrangement, particularly as the perimeter fence of the facility has also collapsed, leaving the premises largely unprotected.

Residents, therefore, called for immediate rehabilitation of the health centre, stressing that restoring the facility would help prevent further disruption to essential healthcare services in the community.

Nollywood actress and producer Ruth Kadiri has explained why she chose to keep her marriage and personal life away from the public.

Kadiri spoke about her decision during a recent episode of the Dear Ife podcast, where she revealed that she had a fear of marriage and was unsure about how her decision to marry would turn out.

According to the actress, her concerns about the future of her marriage made her decide against having a public relationship. She added that her husband supported her choice and agreed with her on keeping their wedding small.

‘I had a phobia of marriage. I was battling with the fear of the unknown and asking myself, ‘Am I going to make this decision and everything will now scatter?’ So, I wasn’t really ready to have a public marriage, and my husband was okay with it.

‘Also, I didn’t want a lot of drama regarding my relationship. That’s why my husband and I invited only 50 people to our wedding. Twenty-five people were invited by him, while 25 others were invited by me. If I were abroad, I guess we would have just probably walked to the registry and gotten married,’ she said.

Ruth Kadiri and her husband got married in a private ceremony in 2018, with only 50 guests in attendance.

The couple welcomed their first daughter in August 2019 and their second daughter in July 2022.

The Allied People’s Movement (APM) has faulted President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s three-week leave in Europe, asking the Presidency to clear the air over concerns about his health status.

Tinubu jetted out of the country on Sunday for a three-week leave in Europe, with London as his first destination.

The party urged the Presidency to officially furnish Nigerians with information on the President’s health, as well as details of his extended leave, including his itinerary, entourage and schedule while he is out of Nigeria.

The National Publicity Secretary of the APM, Mr Abubakar Yusuf, conveyed the party’s demand in a statement issued in Abuja on Monday.

Yusuf said the President’s decision to embark on a lengthy vacation at a time when he was expected to lead efforts to address the country’s security and economic challenges had raised concerns among Nigerians.

He noted, ‘The Tinubu Presidency should immediately clear the air over apprehensions in the public space that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu may have become incapacitated, leading to his lengthy three-week leave in Europe.’

The APM spokesman also called on the President to provide answers to allegations concerning his reported link to an FBI report on a drug-related case, arguing that the circumstances surrounding his absence had heightened public apprehension.

‘There is nothing wrong in the Presidency clearing the air on the state of health of Mr President, as obtainable in other climes,’ the APM stated.

While acknowledging that ‘nobody is above human frailties,’ the party said Nigerians deserved transparency on the President’s condition and ability to discharge his constitutional responsibilities.

However, the party upbraided the Tinubu administration, describing its record in office as poor and accusing the government of worsening the country’s economic and security challenges.

The APM claimed that the administration’s economic policies, including the removal of the petroleum subsidy and its tax regime, had pushed millions of Nigerians into poverty and placed additional pressure on businesses and households.

It also alleged that Nigeria’s debt had risen to N159.28 trillion under the Tinubu administration, with little to show for the borrowings. The party further claimed that some of the funds had been diverted to other interests.

On insecurity, the party alleged that more than 628,000 Nigerians had been killed and 2.2 million abducted since Tinubu assumed office in May 2023.

The APM urged the President to use his leave to reflect on his administration’s record and reconsider his reported intention to seek re-election in 2027.

Yusuf said, ‘The APM urges President Tinubu to use the period of the leave to introspect on his legacy of failures and rescind his decision to run in the 2027 Presidential race, having been overwhelmed by the pressing demands of the office of the President of a nation like Nigeria.’

The party argued that the demands of the presidency required an energetic leader with the vitality, capacity and faculties to respond to contemporary leadership challenges.

It said Nigeria needed a younger leader capable of providing effective leadership, urging Tinubu to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race and support the APM’s presidential candidate, Engr. Seyi Makinde.

According to the APM, Makinde has demonstrated the required leadership capacity through his administration of Oyo State, which it claimed had become one of Nigeria’s economically viable states, citing data from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).

The APM said it wanted Makinde to replicate what it described as ‘his achievements’ in Oyo State at the national level.

The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Sokoto State, Muhammad Bello Aliyu Goronyo, has resigned his membership of the party.

Goronyo announced his resignation in a letter dated August 30, 2026, addressed to the PDP Chairman of Goronyo Ward in Goronyo Local Government Area of the state.

His resignation takes effect from August 31, 2026, according to the letter, in which he cited ‘purely personal’ reasons for his decision.

‘I hereby formally notify you of my intention to resign my membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Goronyo Ward, Goronyo Local Government Area, effective from today, 31st August, 2026,’ he stated.

‘The reason for my resignation is purely personal,’ he added.

Goronyo served as the state PDP chairman during the 2023 governorship election, when the party narrowly lost the election to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

He remained in office as chairman amid the leadership crisis that later engulfed the PDP at the national level.

In an effort to maintain neutrality amid the crisis, Goronyo and members of the state executive reportedly stayed away from both the Ibadan and Abuja national conventions of the party.

In his resignation letter, the former chairman thanked the leadership and members of the PDP for giving him the opportunity to serve, as well as for the experiences he gained during his membership.

‘I wish to thank the party leadership and members for the opportunity to serve and for the experiences gained during my period of membership,’ he said.

He subsequently requested the ward leadership to accept his resignation as formal notice and remove his name from the party’s membership register.

His resignation comes as political realignments intensify in Sokoto State ahead of the 2027 general elections, with major political parties yet to fully settle their internal leadership and campaign structures.

The PBAT Door-to-Door Movement 2027 has faulted former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for criticising President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over his ongoing vacation abroad, describing the attack as an attempt to turn a routine presidential vacation into a political controversy.

The movement said vacation was a normal part of the responsibilities of leaders across the world, stressing that the President’s temporary absence from the country does not amount to a leadership vacuum.

In a statement issued by its National Coordinator, Comrade Sunday Adekanbi Asuku, FIMC, CMC, and made available to journalists in Kaduna on Sunday, the group said Atiku should concentrate on presenting his political programme to Nigerians ahead of the 2027 general elections instead of attacking the President over his vacation.

The movement described Atiku as a ‘serial presidential contestant without direction,’ arguing that after several attempts to occupy the presidency since 1993, Nigerians deserve to know what concrete roadmap he has for the country.

It also accused the former Vice President of inconsistency over petrol subsidy, recalling that Atiku campaigned in 2023 on a promise to remove fuel subsidy but was now talking about restoring it.

The group said the development showed an attempt to exploit the hardship being experienced by Nigerians for political advantage.

‘After contesting for the presidency repeatedly since 1993, Atiku should be telling Nigerians what he intends to do differently, rather than spending his time attacking President Tinubu.

‘In 2023, he told Nigerians he would remove fuel subsidy. Today, he is talking about bringing it back. Nigerians deserve to know whether this is a genuine policy position or simply an attempt to deceive people into believing that he suddenly sympathises with them,’ the statement said.

The movement reminded Atiku that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had already commenced preparations for the 2027 elections, urging him to take his campaign to Nigerians and explain his plans for the economy, security, employment and other national challenges.

It said, ‘INEC has rolled out the timetable. Atiku should go out and campaign and tell Nigerians what he has for them. Smearing the name of President Tinubu because he has gone on vacation will not work.

‘Presidents and world leaders go on vacation. A vacation does not mean a country has been abandoned. Nigeria has functioning institutions and officials responsible for ensuring that government continues to run.’

The movement urged Nigerians to judge President Tinubu based on his policies and performance rather than political rhetoric, while challenging opposition politicians to offer credible alternatives instead of exploiting the country’s challenges for electoral gains.

THE Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has secured about $1.4 billion funding from multilateral development agencies.

The agencies include as the World Bank, African Development Bank (AfDB), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Agence Française de Development (AFD) and others for national grid expansion.

Consequently, this resulted in TCN’s 8,700MW current transmission wheeling capacity, the record peak transmission of 5,801.84MW achieved in March 2025 as well as the addition of more than 8,500 megavolt-amperes (MVA) in transformer capacity all aimed at supporting infrastructure development.

Executive Director, Transmission Service Provider (TSP), TCN, Engineer Oluwagbenga Ajiboye, stated this at a media workshop organised for energy correspondents in Keffi, Nasarawa State, themed ‘Assessing the Impact and Challenges of Transmission Network in Nigeria’.

He said the company had recorded measurable investments, project deliveries and operational improvements as part of efforts to make the transmission network more resilient and capable of supporting increased electricity supply.

Delivering a paper titled ‘TCN Milestones and Challenges in Nigeria’s Power Sector’, Ajiboye said the workshop provided a platform for stakeholders and the media to examine developments, achievements and persistent challenges within the electricity transmission sector.

He added that the revenue generated by the company and the development agencies’ funds are being channeled to the rehabilitation of ageing infrastructure with the commissioning of 89 new power transformers resulting in TCN’s capacity to deliver bulk electricity and major 330kV transmission network projects had improved evacuation routes, flexibility and resilience.

Ajiboye called for special courts or designation of magistrates to handle cases of energy infrastructure sabotage, saying the measure would aid speedy trials and convictions to reduce rising vandalism of transmission assets to the barest minimum.

He said several transmission towers across the North-Central, North-West and South-East had been vandalised in the last 12 months, with conductors, tower members and bolts removed and carted away by vandals who even when caught, are easily left off the hook, despite the gravity of offences committed which is threatening electricity transmission in the country.

He also appealed to the Federal Government to introduce stiffer penalties for vandalism of transmission assets, saying the TCN has continuously engaged the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) and the Ministry of Justice on the need for a special framework for prosecuting power infrastructure crimes.

‘The police only charge suspects for theft and the court will release them by the following day. There are no laid-down consequences specified for vandalism of transmission towers and lines. That is why the act continues.

When someone destroys a 330kV tower that supplies power to five states and the only charge is theft of scrap metal, then released on bail the next day, what deterrence exists? We cannot continue to invest billions in rebuilding towers only for them to be pulled down again because the legal system treats it as petty crime,’ the ED lamented.

Fresh concerns have emerged over the composition of the Presidential Campaign Council of the All Progressives Congress (APC), following the lack of clarity on the role of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors (RHA) earlier constituted by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu under the leadership of the governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodinma.

President Tinubu had last week announced the APC PCC, which will be led by the former governor of Zamfara State, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, while Governor Uzodinma would serve as the secretary.

Sources in the APC said that the coordinators of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors in the 36 states and Abuja have been thrown into a quandary following the failure of the presidency to clearly state their roles, if any, in the PCC.

‘With the inclusion of Senator Uzodinma in the PCC, it appears that the Renewed Hope Ambassadors have been dissolved,’ a source within the party said, adding that the structure earlier set up by the RHA for the propagation of President Tinubu’s campaign would be dismantled.

The source stated that such a development would be unfortunate because the RHA had earlier set up a massive structure that cut across all the polling units in the country, the wards and the local governments.

‘I don’t know why we should jettison such a structure for the PCC, which would have only the governors in the states as coordinators and governorship candidates as chairmen in states that have no APC governors. That setup could create further crisis.

‘For instance, in a state like Oyo where there is no APC governor, the APC candidate needs to be reconciled with members and leaders of the party first; it would look awkward to have the same candidate now leading the campaign.

‘What would have augured well for the party is to have presidential and governorship campaigns coordinated by a separate structure like the RHA in the states while the PCC coordinates things from the centre in Abuja,’ another source in the party stated.

However, a presidential aide, Tope Ajayi, who spoke to the Nigerian Tribune, said that those expressing concerns over the fate of the RHA may have to await the inauguration of the PCC.

Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma, was the Director General of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors until he was appointed secretary of the PCC last week.

Speaking with Nigerian Tribune in a telephone interview, Temitope Ajayi, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity declared that it would be hasty to conclude that the RHA would be swallowed by the PCC.

He said: ‘We wait for the campaign council to be operationalised first.

‘Yes, it has been announced; let’s wait until it is inaugurated.

‘Don’t forget that Governor Hope Uzodimma, who is the Director-General of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors, is the secretary of the Presidential Campaign Council. We will just wait and see how everything takes shape after the inauguration,’ he said.

The Oyo State Government has released the academic calendar for the 2026/2027 session for public and private schools across the state.

According to the calendar shared on Instagram by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, the new academic session will commence on Monday, September 14, 2026.

The first term will run for 13 weeks, ending on Friday, December 11, 2026. The term will include an Open Day on Wednesday, October 28, while the mid-term break is scheduled for Thursday, October 29 and Friday, October 30.

The first-term vacation will begin on Monday, December 14, 2026, and end on Friday, January 1, 2027.

The second term will commence on Monday, January 4, 2027, and run until Friday, April 2, 2027, also covering 13 weeks.

The second term Open Day is scheduled for Wednesday, February 17, while students will observe a two-day mid-term break on Thursday, February 18 and Friday, February 19.

The second-term vacation will run from Monday, April 5 to Friday, April 23, 2027.

The third term will begin on Monday, April 26, 2027, and end on Friday, July 30, lasting 14 weeks.

The third term will have its Open Day on Wednesday, June 9, while the mid-term break will hold on Thursday, June 10 and Friday, June 11.

The long vacation will commence on Monday, August 2 and end on Friday, September 10, 2027.

The state government said full academic programmes are expected to commence on the first day of each term.

It also directed all public and private schools to observe public holidays as may be directed by the Federal and State Governments.

The government warned that all schools must strictly adhere to the approved calendar, noting that contravention of the school calendar would attract a penalty.

‘All Public and Private Schools are to adhere strictly to the School Calendar, as contravention of the School Calendar attracts a penalty,’ the statement read.

It added that schools operating international curricula that wish to adopt academic dates outside the approved calendar must apply for calendar flexibility in line with the prescribed guidelines.

According to the government, the Calendar Flexibility Application Form is obtainable from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.

‘?Schools operating International Curricula that wish to adopt academic dates outside the approved 2026/2027 academic calendar shall apply for calendar flexibility in accordance with the prescribed guidelines,’ the statement added.

Nigeria’s sudden rebound in imported petroleum products, especially Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, is generating shockwaves in the industry, with experts/analysts warning the Federal Government on the negative implications if the situation goes unchecked

The experts, comprising the former Director-General, Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Dr Muda Yusuf and Public Relation Officer, Crude Oil Refinery-Owners Association of Nigeria (CORAN), Mr. Eche Idoko, warned that unchecked fuel imports at the expense of local production would lead to severe macroeconomic damage, weakening foreign exchange reserves, exporting local employment, and eroding investor confidence in domestic manufacturing.

The warning is coming following the official data from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), which revealed that average daily imports of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) rose sharply to 19.7 million litres per day in July 2026, accounting for 43.3 per cent of total national receipts-up from 12.4 per cent in May.

Also, as a result of this, Dangote Refinery, last week,

threatened to export excess petrol stocks, saying the rising imports have created uncertainty around domestic demand and made inventory planning increasingly difficult.

Worried by the development, Dr. Muda Yusuf – led Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), on Sunday, outlined the structural economic risks the nation will face if fuel imports continue at the expense of local production.

He cautioned that granting import permissions without verifying domestic supply shortfalls would force Nigeria to repeat legacy structural failures.

?’The primary systemic threat remains the unnecessary exposure of the Naira to foreign exchange capital flight.

‘Every imported tanker of petrol requires substantial hard-currency outlays to cover: Free-on-Board (FOB) fuel costs, international ocean freight, ?maritime insurance and trade financing fees.

‘Processing crude oil locally retains these value-added margins within Nigeria, preserving hard currency even when specialised inputs are imported,’ he said.

Reverting to high import volumes by NMDPRA, he said, would increase demand for foreign exchange, place avoidable pressure on central bank reserves, and exacerbate currency volatility.

He explained that fuel import reliance would effectively transfer the multiplier benefits of industrial activity abroad, noting that multi-billion-dollar domestic facilities, such as the 650,000 bpd Dangote Petroleum Refinery, anchor extensive domestic job ecosystems.

Allowing foreign fuel to displace local production, he said, would threaten skilled positions across several sectors.

?According to him, when import permits bypass operational local refineries, the employment opportunities, along with corresponding income and payroll taxes, are exported to foreign refining hubs.

?Downstream energy assets, Yusuf said, require massive, illiquid, and long-term capital commitments, pointing out that financial institutions and private investors rely on predictable off-take volumes and stable utilisation rates to service debt obligations.

‘?If regulatory policy allows import volumes to compete freely against domestic production without verified supply gaps, local capacity utilization drops. Unpredictable import surges raise the risk premium on Nigerian energy infrastructure, potentially halting expansions, delaying modular refinery projects, and signaling to foreign direct investors that capital deployment in Nigeria’s industrial sector carries policy risks,’ he said.

CPPE noted that while imports remain an essential backup tool for emergency outages or seasonal spikes, using them to displace functional local refining risks destabilizing the broader economy.

The spokesperson of CORAN, Eche Idoko, who corroborated Yusuf, urged the country to urgently address the challenges surrounding domestic crude supply to local refineries, particularly the commercial and pricing terms under which crude is made available.

According to him, local refiners require a predictable, competitive and sustainable crude supply framework if they are to operate efficiently and compete with imported products.

He suggested the need to enforce backward integration and protect local refining

‘There is also a need for stronger enforcement of the backward-integration provisions and policy objectives under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA). The regulatory framework should deliberately encourage investment in domestic refining capacity and ensure that importation does not undermine existing and emerging local refineries,’ the spokesperson of CORAN said.

According to him, Nigeria cannot sustainably pursue energy security while simultaneously creating a commercial environment that favours imports over domestic

He pointed out that unchecked petrol import would increase pressure on foreign exchange.

According to him, Nigeria’s foreign exchange position will inevitably come under increased pressure if dependence on imported petroleum products continue to rise.

‘The ultimate beneficiaries will largely be international trading companies, many of which maintain little more than trading desks in Nigeria, while significant value and foreign exchange continue to leave the country,’ he said.