•Warns petrol imports threaten Nigeria’s economy

From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has assured Nigerians of uninterrupted fuel supply throughout the festive season, pledging that there will be no fuel queues nationwide.

The association however warned that the continued importation of petroleum products poses a serious threat to Nigeria’s economy, insisting that domestic refining remains the only sustainable solution to energy security, job creation and foreign exchange stability.

IPMAN’s national president, Abubakar Shettima, gave the assurance on Thursday in Abuja while reacting to recent developments in the oil and gas sector, including the leadership of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), as well as the growing partnership between the association and the Dangote Refinery.

Shettima commended President Bola Tinubu for the regulatory reset, describing it as timely and critical to restoring confidence and clarity in the petroleum industry. He said the move has strengthened regulation at a period of heightened uncertainty following the resignation of the heads of the NMDPRA and NUPRC amid the dispute between the Dangote refinery and regulators over fuel importation, pricing and oversight.

Reiterating IPMAN’s long-standing position, Shettima warned that fuel importation should not exist alongside domestic refining, insisting that continued imports distort market dynamics and undermine economic stability.

“Our position has always been to deepen domestic refining to eradicate imports of petroleum products. Continuous import is not an acceptable parallel business model because issuing import licenses recklessly distorts market dynamics, drains foreign exchange, enthrones poverty, destroys jobs, and scares potential investors away,” he said.

According to him, deepening local refining remains the only sustainable path to energy security, job creation and foreign exchange stability. He added that a functional domestic refining ecosystem would stabilise pump prices, reduce logistics costs and ease pressure on the naira.

Shettima said the Dangote–IPMAN partnership is driven by a shared objective of improving the welfare of Nigerians through affordable fuel supply, local value creation and reduced dependence on imports, noting that independent marketers remain critical to nationwide fuel distribution and market stability.

While assuring Nigerians of sufficient petroleum products during the festive period, the IPMAN president called on the new leadership of the NMDPRA to urgently address  bridging claims owed to marketers, which he put at over N190 billion.

He warned that failure to settle the debt promptly could affect smooth fuel supply in the near future, stressing that clarity and consistency in regulation are crucial to sustaining investor confidence and preventing policy reversals.

Shettima also expressed IPMAN’s support for increased local production, not only by the Dangote Group but also by other refinery operators, saying higher domestic output would reduce foreign exchange exposure for marketers and enable Nigerians to benefit from lower fuel prices.