IPMAN kicks against petroleum import licences, cites FX pressure, high landing costs - ITREALMS

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has strongly rejected the Federal Government's decision to issue new licences to select companies for the importation of petroleum products into the country, reports ITREALMS.

In an official statement released in Abuja, IPMAN National Publicity Secretary, Chinedu Ukadike, warned that relying on imports is worsening domestic price volatility and placing severe, unnecessary pressure on the naira.

Ukadike stated that independent marketers closely monitored recent shifts in the downstream sector—specifically tracking price fluctuations, the import licensing framework, and foreign exchange transactions—before concluding that current import permits do not serve the economic interests of everyday Nigerians.

Addressing the regulatory approach, IPMAN called on the Federal Government to transparently review the move through the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

According to Ukadike, issuing import permits to benchmark or suppress locally refined product prices has backfired. He revealed that the landing cost of imported Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) currently stands at approximately N1,350 per litre—nearly 20 percent higher than the wholesale price offered by domestic producers like the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.

"Importing petroleum products at a higher cost than locally available products makes no economic sense," Ukadike argued. "If we have a continuous, uninterrupted supply, our primary challenge is pricing. Is it not better to sit down and see how this issue can be controlled than to sign unnecessary import licences that further inflate pump prices across our country?"

The association directly linked the foreign exchange demands of product importers to recent currency depreciation, noting that FX pressure has pushed exchange rates to around N1,400 to the dollar, which subsequently drives up local pump prices.

Conversely, IPMAN highlighted that the biggest triumph of domestic refining has been the total elimination of chronic fuel queues and supply deficits that previously plagued the nation.

"Since the Dangote Refinery came on stream, the perennial scarcity of petroleum products has become a thing of the past," Ukadike noted, emphasizing that local refining guarantees long-term energy security.

IPMAN urged the Federal Government to prioritize Nigeria’s internal refining ecosystem by providing robust backing to both private facilities and state-owned refineries.

The association stressed that looking inward will safeguard national energy security, stabilize the naira, guarantee consistent local distribution, and position Nigeria to earn vital foreign exchange by exporting refined products across the continent.