The Federal Government has no authority to adjust petrol prices, whether up or down, because the downstream oil sector is now fully deregulated, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, has declared.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday, Lokpobiri said pump prices are now dictated purely by international market dynamics rather than government policy.
“The Bola Tinubu government doesn’t have any power to reduce or increase the price of petrol. It is completely deregulated in line with global best standards,” he said.
The minister explained that since crude oil and refined products are traded on the global market, Nigeria cannot unilaterally fix prices without reintroducing a subsidy regime — a path he made clear the administration has no intention of revisiting.
Responds to Atiku’s Subsidy Proposal
Lokpobiri’s remarks came in direct response to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who had called for a production subsidy to make locally refined petrol more affordable for Nigerians. The minister dismissed the idea outright, arguing it lacked legal, fiscal, and financial grounding.
He also pushed back on the notion that petrol should cost significantly less simply because it is now refined domestically at the Dangote Refinery, noting that local crude is still sold to refineries at prevailing international prices.
“They sell crude to the refinery at the same global price,” he said, insisting that global pricing remains unavoidable regardless of where refining takes place.
Nigerians Still Better Off, Minister Insists
Despite the pricing constraints, Lokpobiri maintained that Nigerians are reaping tangible benefits from local refining — chiefly improved fuel availability and prices that remain lower than in several other countries, including the United States.
“We already benefit. That’s why our price is lower than that of the U.S.,” he said, pointing out that even America, despite its vast oil production and refining capacity, sells fuel at higher prices than Nigeria’s average pump price.
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