The Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Dr. Kayode Opeifa, has called for increased investment in rail, storage and other logistics infrastructure to improve petroleum product distribution, reduce transportation costs and strengthen Nigeria’s refining sector.
Opeifa made the call as a panellist at the West African Refined Fuel Market (WARFM) 2026 Conference in Abuja, during a session on ‘Investment Opportunities in African Refining, Storage, Pipeline and Logistics.’
The conference was organised by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) in collaboration with S and P Global Commodity Insights and the West Africa Regulators Forum.
According to Opeifa, refining petroleum products without adequate infrastructure to distribute them creates a major challenge for the economy.
‘When products are refined and they are not distributed, it becomes a very big issue,’ he said.
Drawing from his experience in the regulatory, logistics and management sectors of the Nigerian economy, Opeifa said one of the country’s major challenges remained the mobility and distribution of products.
He said Nigeria must therefore adopt a holistic approach to addressing challenges in storage, pipelines and transportation, with road and rail playing complementary roles.
According to him, building refineries without corresponding investments in pipelines, rail links and storage facilities would continue to create bottlenecks in the movement of petroleum products from production centres to markets.
Opeifa said the railway should not be viewed only as a means of passenger transportation, but as strategic economic infrastructure capable of moving large volumes of petroleum products and other commodities over long distances.
He noted that shifting more bulk cargo from road to rail would reduce logistics costs, ease pressure on highways, improve road safety and strengthen supply-chain efficiency.
The NRC boss identified investment opportunities in petroleum tank wagons, ship-to-rail transfer facilities, refinery-to-rail infrastructure, inland petroleum storage hubs, rail terminals, maintenance facilities and digital freight systems.
He also said existing railway corridors could be rehabilitated and commercially optimised through private-sector participation, including Public-Private Partnerships, concessions, joint ventures and track-access arrangements.
Recalling the damage caused by flooding in Mokwa, Niger State, Opeifa said the NRC management was working to overcome the setback and restore the affected route to a sustainable operational condition.
He added that provisions had been made in the 2026 budget to improve rail connectivity to major ports across the country.
According to him, beyond the existing rail connection to Lagos ports through the narrow and standard gauge networks, there are plans to extend rail connectivity to Tin Can Island Port.
He said the Port Harcourt railway station would also be linked to Onne Port, while the rail track from Aba would be extended to Enugu in the first instance and subsequently towards Maiduguri.
Giving an update on ongoing standard gauge projects, Opeifa said the Abuja-Kaduna railway had been completed, while the Kaduna-Kano section was expected to be ready by the end of 2026.
He added that the Kano-Maradi rail project, extending towards Niger Republic, was expected to be completed in 2027.
Opeifa advocated an integrated ship-pipeline-rail-road distribution system in which the various modes of transportation complement one another rather than compete.
He said improved rail connectivity between refineries, ports, storage facilities and regional markets would strengthen Nigeria’s position as a major energy supply hub in West Africa and support trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area.
The NRC Managing Director stressed that efficient logistics infrastructure was essential to achieving competitive petroleum pricing, noting that high transportation costs ultimately affect the price paid by consumers.
He said Nigeria’s investment opportunity lies not only in expanding refining capacity, but also in building the infrastructure required to move petroleum products efficiently, affordably and reliably to markets.