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Nigeria’s push for energy sovereignty and economic resilience has received a fresh boost as the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) commended President Bola Tinubu for resetting the country’s petroleum regulatory architecture.
In an agenda-setting write-up by its Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Muda Yusuf, CPPE described the current moment as a defining chapter for Nigeria’s energy future, one that demands bold regulatory leadership, coherent policy execution and an unwavering commitment to domestic value creation.
The appointment of new Chief Executive Officers for the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) is being hailed by CPPE as a timely and strategic intervention capable of repositioning the oil and gas sector for sustainable growth.
According to CPPE, the leadership changes present a rare opportunity to realign Nigeria’s petroleum regulatory space with the administration’s broader objectives of energy security, self-reliance and accelerated production growth. With the right policy focus and regulatory discipline, the sector can once again become a powerful engine for industrialisation, foreign exchange stability and job creation.
At the heart of CPPE’s optimism is the expectation that the new regulatory leadership will place domestic capacity expansion at the centre of decision-making. The organisation stressed that reducing Nigeria’s dependence on imported petroleum products must now be treated as a national economic priority rather than a policy aspiration.
In the downstream segment, CPPE insisted that domestic refining should be the immediate and non-negotiable focus of the NMDPRA. Nigeria, it argued, can no longer sustain a system where locally refined products compete with imports under uneven fiscal and regulatory conditions. Such a framework, CPPE noted, undermines investment confidence and weakens the long-term viability of domestic refineries.
To reverse this trend, government policy must clearly and deliberately favour locally refined petroleum products through targeted fiscal incentives, supportive regulations and enabling infrastructure. This approach, CPPE said, aligns with President Tinubu’s Nigeria-First policy direction and the broader industrialisation agenda of the administration.
Beyond protecting investors, CPPE emphasised that a strong domestic refining base is critical to safeguarding Nigeria’s long-term economic interests. Increased local refining capacity would conserve scarce foreign exchange, stabilise the macroeconomic environment and significantly reduce exposure to external supply shocks. It would also support employment generation and position Nigeria to become a net exporter of refined petroleum products within the region.
More importantly, CPPE highlighted domestic refining as a gateway to deeper industrial development. By strengthening backward integration, refineries can catalyse growth in petrochemicals, fertilisers and other allied industries. These linkages, the organisation noted, are essential for building broad-based industrial value chains that support inclusive economic growth and competitiveness.
On the upstream side, CPPE urged the new leadership of the NUPRC to anchor its agenda firmly on production growth and investment attraction. With the global energy transition accelerating, Nigeria must maximise the value of its hydrocarbon resources while the window of opportunity remains open.
The organisation called for policies that actively encourage fresh investments across both onshore and offshore assets, supported by improved security and regulatory efficiency. CPPE identified a clear national target of raising crude oil production to at least two million barrels per day as both realistic and necessary to restore Nigeria’s standing in the global energy market.
Gas development was also identified as a critical pillar of the upstream agenda. Expanded investment in gas production, CPPE said, would support domestic power generation, industrial use and export opportunities, while reinforcing Nigeria’s role as a key energy supplier.
Equally important, CPPE stressed the need for strict compliance with domestic crude supply obligations to ensure that local refineries have reliable access to feedstock. This, it argued, is essential to sustaining refining operations and maximising the economic benefits of recent investments in domestic capacity.
In its conclusion, CPPE expressed confidence that if these strategic imperatives guide the actions of the new petroleum regulatory leadership, Nigeria’s oil and gas sector can once again become a catalyst for sustainable growth, industrialisation and long-term economic resilience.
