Calls for transparency, fairness, and healthy competition in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector dominated a media roundtable in Abuja yesterday, with industry players warning against monopolistic control in the post-subsidy era.
The meeting, organised by Extractive360 at the Exclusive Serene Hotel, Wuye, brought together oil and gas experts, legal analysts, and journalists to examine challenges and opportunities in the liberalised market.
Executive Director of Extractive360, Juliet Ukanwosu, described the downstream sector as “a vital pillar” of the oil and gas industry, directly influencing availability, pricing, and distribution. She noted that subsidy removal had shifted price determination to market forces, sparking competition and frequent pump price fluctuations.
Ukanwosu identified high operating costs, forex volatility, dependence on imported refined products, and infrastructural gaps as major strains on the sector, but said liberalisation had created space for private investment in refining, storage, and distribution.
Presentations by oil and gas governance consultant, Ademola Adigun, and legal expert, Olasubomi Chuku, stressed that competitiveness must be free of dominance by any single player. They urged the media to safeguard fairness and ensure stability that benefits consumers.
The Natural Oil and Gas Suppliers Association of Nigeria called on the Federal Government to enforce provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) which guarantee open access to infrastructure, ban price fixing, and prohibit anti-competitive mergers.
Sections 8(1)(d), 59(1), 70 and 72–93 of the Act were cited as critical to ensuring fair pricing, preventing abuse of market dominance, and keeping the sector open to qualified operators.
Participants also highlighted the role of journalists in educating the public, monitoring regulators, and exposing anti-competitive behaviour.
The session ended with consensus on three priorities — full enforcement of PIA competition clauses, prevention of monopolies, and closer collaboration between regulators and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC).
Stakeholders agreed that Nigeria’s downstream sector can only achieve stability and affordability through vigilance, strict regulation, and active public engagement.
